Some Dreams Must Die
by 54Viruses
Summary: A chance encounter with her idol -Oroku Saki- drags Samantha Gelding and her family into a world of danger. What happened to the Disk and how much suffering will it cause?
1. Oroku Saki

I do not own TMNT themes or characters.

* * *

Chapter One: Oroku Saki; Role Model

* * *

Samantha Gelding was an acrobat.

Or at least, she was crazy enough to ride downhill, standing balanced on her bike's pedals without using her hands.

School was out for a three-day weekend. There was no homework, no DECA, no track, and no recitals. Sam couldn't remember the last time she had this much free time on her hands. Admittedly she would probably just end up babysitting Travis and reading a book all weekend, but that was better than nothing. Right now, Sam felt like she was on top of the world!

Until her front tire hit the curb funny.

A small shriek escaped her as Sam fell to the ground. Her bike rolled lazily out into an intersection before stopping tiredly and falling over. Some people stopped and helped Sam to her feet, asking her if she was unhurt. She was just about to answer in the affirmative when her bike was hit by the most expensive car Sam had ever seen.

She stared in horror and the small crowd that had gathered fell silent. "Holy… My bike!"

The driver's door opened and a stubby man in chauffeur uniform stepped out. He went to the front of the car and looked down at the wreckage. The man cringed at the sight. Standing straighter, the driver looked around at the crowd and somehow picked Samantha out as the owner of the bike. His selection might have had something to do with her open mouth and pale complexion. "You! What do you think you are doing leaving bicycle in middle of the street? Are you _baka_?"

The man had a thick accent and Sam was pretty sure he was Asian. She had no idea what a 'baka' was and couldn't deny or confirm his accusation. "I… I..." Sam abruptly regained the use of her mouth and brain, "You killed my bike!"

The man stormed over to Samantha. He was shorter than Sam's own unimpressive five-foot-five and he had to be a good five times wider than her, "You should not be so careless to leave bicycle in street!" He shook his chubby little finger in her face.

Sam brushed his hand to the side. "I admit I was being careless while riding it, but it went in to the street of its own volition." Sam retorted. She was angry and she always slipped into debate team mode when she was angry.

"Impossible! Bicycles do not have 'own volition'. You left it there!"

"Again, I did not put it out there. But I did see that it had landed on the crosswalk. In no way did you so much as slow down for that stop sign, if I had still been on my bike you could have killed me!"

The driver was about to respond when a well-groomed hand rested on his shoulder. A smooth, low voice spoke. "Quan, you were driving a little recklessly. Apologize to the young lady."

The driver, Quan's eyes widened before he clasped his hands in front of him and bowed. "My apologies miss; I was mistaken."

His sudden change of attitude completely threw Sam. "Apology… accepted?"

"Return to the car, Quan, and remove the bicycle from the front fender." The man behind Quan instructed. The driver hurried to do as he was told. Sam was confused by this new turn of events. She looked up at the man responsible for the driver's change in attitude and clapped her hands over her mouth in surprise and shock.

"Mr. Saki!" Sam gasped; her eyes had to be as large as dinner plates. Oroku Saki stood in front of her. Tall, even by American standards, handsome, dressed in a finely tailored, black business suit, and looking down at Sam with an expression of kind contemplation.

This was impossible. Oroku Saki's driver had demolished Sam's bike! Suddenly this turned from an annoying nightmare to an amazing dream. Oroku Saki! _The_ Oroku Saki! Billionaire and the brains behind one of the most successful international corporations on the planet. He was the hero of nearly every business club student in either the US or Japan and he was standing right in front of Samantha!

Mr. Saki gave a soft smile, "It appears you know me. May I have the pleasure of your name?"

 _Deep breaths, Sam, deep breaths_. She pulled her hands from her mouth and tried to remain calm, "Samantha Gelding, sir."

He nodded, "A pleasure, Miss Gelding. It appears that my driver has demolished your transportation. Is your home nearby, or may I offer you a ride?"

"My apartment building is about twenty minutes' walk from here, sir." Samantha felt proud of herself, she hadn't stuttered once. Now that she believed she could talk to the man she was able to think of other things, like how he was just as handsome in person as he was on television! The other girls, heck even the guys in DECA would be so jealous when they heard about this! The club's faculty advisers would be jealous!

"Then I feel I must insist, it would not be proper to leave a young lady such as yourself un-escorted in the city."

Samantha felt a flush rise to her cheeks. He was such a gentleman. And the chance to ride with him? Amazing! "Thank you."

Oroku Saki led Sam to his car. Quan hurried over and opened the door for them. Mr. Saki gestured for Sam to go first and she slid in, careful to keep the skirt of her school uniform modest. She put her backpack on the floor in front of her and looked around. The inside of the car was just like the limos in the movies with two plush seats facing each other. In the seat facing the back of the car sat a thin, pale man with sweaty face. Beside him sat a beautiful Japanese woman, Oroku Karai herself! She smiled and nodded to Samantha as Mr. Saki sat in the seat next to Sam. The door was closed behind him as Mr. Saki made the introductions. "May I introduce Miss Samantha Gelding. Miss Gelding, this is my associate Mr. Peters and this is my lovely daughter, Karai."

"I'm very pleased to meet you." Sam said. The younger Oroku nodded, she was pretty as her father was handsome. The other man just swallowed and slipped a finger behind his tie. In a limo with Oroku Saki and Oroku Karai! Everything was like a fantasy, except for that Mr. Peter's character; he looked like he was going to be ill. Mentally, Sam shrugged the thought off. Even associates of Mr. Saki's might get carsick.

After Sam told Quan where her apartment building was, the vehicle began to move. Mr. Saki addressed Sam, "Tell me; what school do you attend?" His tone was kind and interested.

Sam smoothed her skirt over her knees. "St. Mary's High School, sir."

He nodded as though this were very acceptable to him. "A good school. Do you participate in any activities there?" Sam told him about her various school activities.

For some reason Mr. Peters swallowed nervously. His eyes moved from Mr. Saki, to Miss Karai, and back. More than once his eyes rested on Samantha's backpack. The top was sloppily unzipped.

They dropped the girl off shortly. She thanked Oroku Saki for his generosity, then hooked her backpack over her shoulders and hurried up the steps to the front door of her apartment building. One last glance over her shoulder at the limo and she disappeared within. As the car pulled away from the curb, Mr. Saki turned to his 'associate'. "Charming young girl, don't you think so?" He asked.

Mr. Peters wiped a handkerchief across his forehead, "Yes, quite charming." He agreed stiffly.

"And a student at St. Mary's. Correct me if I'm wrong, Mr. Peters, but doesn't your own lovely young daughter attend that school?" Mr. Saki's tone was conversational, but the threat obvious. "But, back to business. I will ask you one more time. Where is the disk you procured from my business?"

Mr. Peters swallowed hard. "I must have lost it." He gasped.

Saki didn't bat an eye. "That is most unfortunate, Mr. Peters. Don't you agree Karai?"

"Yes, most unfortunate indeed." Karai agreed. There was a look in her eyes that when Peters glanced at her he almost believed that she spoke honestly about her regret. But the impression was lost as her gaze iced over once again.

The car pulled up to another curb. "You have twenty hours Peters." Mr. Saki said, his voice still calm, "If I do not get that disk, then I may offer your lovely daughter a ride as well." He handed Mr. Peters a card before the door opened.

Peters crawled out of the car as fast as he could, then watched in misery as the squat driver returned to his place behind the wheel of the car and drove off. Once the car was out of sight Peters looked at the card. It was a photograph. In the picture, several girls in matching St. Mary's High uniforms crossed the courtyard of their school, smiling and laughing, oblivious to the camera trained on them. The center focus of the image was one girl with blond hair and blue eyes that matched Mr. Peters'.

A long sigh shook the man's frame. His family had twenty hours to get as far away from New York as possible. Time enough.

He just prayed that the girl, Samantha Gelding, would forgive him.

* * *

"Who was that?"

"Nobody, go do your homework."

"Didn't Mom say you're not supposed to accept rides from strangers?"

"Didn't I just tell you to go do your homework?"

"Don't have any."

Sam looked down at her little brother, Travis. She could smell a lie from this kid from _miles_ away. "Doesn't Sister Anne Margret teach your class?"

Travis thought about the question, looking for a trap. "Uh, yeah." He still didn't see one but from his sister's expression he knew had just fallen into the trap.

"Sister Anne Margret _always_ assigns extra homework on three day weekends. She's more devout about that than she is Saturday Mass. Go do your homework." Travis whined and started up the stairs towards their apartment. Samantha hitched up her backpack and started up after him. Behind her little brother's back she allowed a smile to show. _T_ _he_ Oroku Saki had given _her_ a ride home from school! So cool!

There was a note on the front door of their apartment. Travis grabbed it first but Samantha pulled it out of his grasp, loving the fact that he hadn't hit his growth spurts yet. "Hey!"

"Hay is for horses." Sam replied.

In the note, their mother explained that she would be out the rest of the night and their father was working late as well. Sam smirked, the last time that had happened they had both brought home leftovers from their favorite restaurant and her mother had brought home a rose to be put in water. It was kind of sweet that her parents still snuck out on dates and all, Sam just wished they'd find somebody else to watch their darling little boy from time to time.

The rest of the note included instructions for dinner and a promise that both parents would be home for the rest of the three-day weekend. Well, babysitting for just one evening wasn't so bad if everyone would be home for the rest of the weekend.

"What'sitsay? What'sitsay?" Travis was jumping up and down, trying to grab the paper. Sam was holding it over her head as she read it.

"It says that Mom and Dad are going to be out all night."

"Alright!" Travis continued jumping up and down but no longer for the note. Mom and Dad gone meant pizza.

"It also says you have to go to bed early." Sam grinned as her brother started jumping for the paper again.

"Nuh-uh, no it doesn't! Give it!" She continued to hold the paper over her head as she unlocked the door and let the two of them inside the apartment.

"You're not gonna get it!" Sam teased once they were inside. She stuck her tongue out at him and wrinkled her nose. It was childish, but that was why she had waited until she was inside to do it. "You're not gonna get it!"

Travis stopped jumping up and down. He stuck his tongue out right back at her, and then had a brilliant idea. His face turned from that of an angel to an evil smirk. He reached up, but didn't jump, "Tickle-tickle." Sam shrieked, pulling her arm down and trying to back away from the nine-year old.

"No fair!" She objected. She couldn't fight that attack any more than she could the laughter. She hated tickling so much he didn't even have to touch her, and they both knew it.

"Tickle-tickle." Travis smiled and wiggled his fingers at her menacingly. In the end Travis won the note and was pleased to see that he got to pick that night's pizza toppings.

Samantha was still chuckling to herself as she walked into her room and dropped her book bag onto her bed. She reached into the bag and started pulling out books, papers, notebooks, and binders. Sam always emptied out her bag at the end of the day, this way she never forgot about any homework or library books. Not that she needed to worry this weekend, but good habits should be maintained.

Finally, Sam pulled out her school planner. She tore out the page for that week and crunched it up in one hand before dropping it in her waste basket; her official recognition that the school week was over. Let the weekend begin! "Okay Travis! What do you want on your pizza?" Sam called. She turned toward the door, tossing her planner carelessly on the desk behind her as she left the room. The planner landed on the desk and slid an inch or so.

Sam never saw the disk that slipped out from between the pages.


	2. Death is but a Dream

I do not own the TMNT themes and characters.

* * *

Chapter Two: Death is but a Dream

* * *

"I ordered a twenty-four hour watch on every one of them. How did they escape?"

The Foot tech watched fondly as his life flashed before his eyes. "Master, they were all seen entering their home that evening, and they never came out. We investigated and the house was empty, even their possessions had been removed." Oroku Saki's multi-thousand-dollar desk flew over the Foot Tech's head, crashing to the floor somewhere behind him.

"How did they escape?" Saki repeated.

"We do not know, master." The tech replied. He was seized by his shirtfront and lifted clean off the floor.

Saki held him up with one hand and grated his words out through his anger. "Then go back. Look harder. Find out! Peters was too stupid to get out alone!"

The Foot tech ninja swallowed back a sigh of relief. Orders were good, orders meant that he would live another day.

Oroku Saki easily tossed the ninja aside. He was a good Foot tech: he stood and bowed before leaving despite his treatment. Saki couldn't afford to lose too many like him, there just weren't too many like him available.

"Master, I have received information as to the whereabouts of the disk." Saki allowed himself a genuine smile. Karai, the one he could count on no matter what situation arose. Even when her pesky sense of honor objected, she would obey him in the end. She was his greatest success.

"Where is it?"

"Peters managed to pass the disk to the girl. He dropped it into her bag before she was left at her apartment." Oroku Saki didn't face Karai, he simply folded his hands behind his back and let his face relax. Recognizing this sign from her father Karai relaxed inwardly as well.

"Have the girl collected, and question her as to the disk's current location." Karai's concern would be invisible to anyone else, but Saki didn't have to so much as look at her to sense it. "Make sure she sees and hears nothing about yourself or me." There, now Karai could fool herself into thinking the girl would live, consider it a reward for work well done.

* * *

Mondays after a three-day weekend were the worse things, ever. Especially when your bike was among the dearly departed.

The day had gone slowly. Several times Sam had found herself staring at the clock and timing it to see if it really was moving as slow as it seemed. Then there was the home work! It was like her teachers had realized they didn't assign enough last week and were rushing to make up for it. With all the extra work, Sam couldn't even fit everything into her backpack. To make matters worse Sam's fingers were killing her even without holding her extra books. Why did her piano teacher have to push her so hard today of all days?

Samantha had a lot to grouse about during her long walk home.

A hand clasped over Sam's mouth. She dropped the extra textbooks and tried to fight as she was dragged into a store. Her elbow found someplace lucky and Sam pulled free, slipping one arm loose from her back pack to use its weight as a weapon. What she saw nearly made her drop the bag; ninja! Sam took a breath to scream bloody murder but another hand clasped over her mouth, expertly avoiding her attempts to bite. An arm wrapped itself around her middle, clamping her arms to her sides and effectively ruining her chances of swinging her book bag. The arms were too strong for Sam to struggle free. She dropped her bag and it must have landed on a foot because her captor grunted and nearly released her, but he caught her again before Sam could escape.

Something stabbed into her arm; the pain was sharp and deep, like a large needle. Sam tried to fight some more, her eyes were beginning to stream with tears. Her throat began to hurt before Samantha even realized she was still trying to scream. Shortly after that everything started to fade, even the pain.

 _Oh,_ Sam thought as her awareness evaporated like a cloud, _It's just a dream_...

* * *

"Stupid sisters." Travis grumbled. He sat on the foot of the stairs waiting for his sister to come home. He normally only had to wait a couple minutes before she came through the door and began tormenting him, but it had been over an hour now and there was no sign of Samantha.

Mrs. McFarthing came to her door. It was always open this time of day so that she could see Travis and watch him until his sister took him to their apartment upstairs. Usually she could close it by now, where could that girl be? "Travis?" The boy looked up at her with an angry expression. His brown eyes had darkened to a distressed, muddy shade. "Travis, would you like something to eat before your sister gets here?"

"No, thank you." He replied. Travis turned back to the door, his arms resting on his knees and his chin resting on his arms. Mrs. McFarthing watched him for a moment before coming out and sitting next to him on the stairs. They stared at the door together.

After several minutes, she put her arm over the boy's shoulder. "I'm sure your sister's fine." She assured him, giving his arm a squeeze.

With speed only little boys were capable of Travis turned and wrapped his arms around the older woman's waist. A moment later the boy was sniffling. All Mrs. McFarthing could do was to rub the boy's back and murmur assurances to him. "Samantha is fine, just fine."

* * *

"Fine. If you want to play that little game, fine." Samantha was tied to a chair, she didn't know why, she didn't know where. Her head hung down with her hair falling around her face, a fragile but strangely comforting barrier between herself and this woman, this evil, evil woman.

Sam didn't know how long she had been awake, but that was how long she had been in this white, windowless room. The woman, the evil woman, had come in a while ago and had begun to ask her about a disk Sam had never seen or heard of before. Her wrists hurt and Sam couldn't feel her hands beyond that. Her ankles hurt and she couldn't feel her feet anymore, either. At least Sam could see her toes move inside her shoes. Both arms hurt from being behind her for so long. Sam was tired, hungry, and scared. This entire situation was completely outside her experience. All she wanted was to go home.

"We have taken your bag and its contents completely apart and have found nothing." The woman stated. Her voice was cold, holding just the edge of a threat.

"Did you try reading anything? Sister Abigail says you can find a lot if you know how to use a book." Sam was mentally kicking herself before the slap landed hard across her face. Since when had she been this cheeky? It had to be the terror talking. She had read that panic could make people do stupid things.

"Insolent girl! Do you have any idea what is at stake here?" The woman seized Samantha's hair; breaking Sam's curtain of protection and forcing her to look into the woman's stony black eyes. "We know where you go to school and we know where you live. We know about your family; your mother, father, brother, we know about them. We can take them the same way we took you, and we won't be as nice."

"I don't know where that disk is." Sam's voice cracked.

The woman narrowed her eyes and released her grip on Samantha's hair. Immediately Sam retreated into her frail curtain of protection. Several strands of hair clung to the wet trails down her cheeks. Her hair was almost the same shade of brown as the brush on Travis's head. She hoped he wasn't too scared when Sam didn't show up. He tried to be a tough kid, but he hated to be alone.

The evil woman snapped her fingers. Through her curtain of hair Sam saw two ninja come into the room. One of them carried a briefcase and stood behind the evil woman while the other released Sam's arms. Her left arm was immediately retied, the right was laid against the single armrest of the chair Sam was tied to and the arm was strapped down. He then ripped the sleeve of Sam's uniform, exposing the skin.

The ninja with the briefcase opened it and held it up. From this case the second ninja pulled a rubber tube and tied it around Sam's arm, tight as a tourniquet. "What are you doing?" Sam's eyes widened, this was starting to look like those spy movies her mom loved. "Stop! What are you doing?!" She started to struggle again.

"Do not worry." The evil woman said, her smile wicked, "All you will feel is a small prick and a burning sensation." The ninja lifted a syringe from the briefcase and attached a needle to the end.

"Stay away from me! Help! Somebody please help me!" Sam's voice lifted to a panicked shriek. " _Help!_ " Her voice pierced the metal door and echoed down the hallway.

* * *

The kunoichi knelt in front of Oroku Saki; the only sign of her inner distress was the trembling of a loose strand of coal black hair. This woman was one whom Saki had dedicated a great deal of time and energy in training. She was an expert at poisons and chemicals. Her skills of interrogation were unparalleled, even by Karai.

"What news do you have for me?" Oroku Saki asked. His voice was calm; this woman had yet to fail him.

"Master, I have tried everything in my knowledge and skills; she knows nothing of the disk."

"And the bag?"

"Stripped to the seams ,master. There was nothing inside but school supplies and the regular trappings of a teenage girl."

"How unfortunate." Saki waved a hand dismissively, "Kill the girl, make sure she is never found." The woman stood, bowed, and turned to leave. "Ah, and Reiko…" The woman paused. She had not thought that Oroku Saki even remembered her name. "The next time I ask you for information, you _will_ get it for me."

Reiko paled, "Yes, Master."

* * *

It was such an incredible waste. Naturally, the girl couldn't go back to her family or the police but she was still in good condition, hardly a bruise on her. Some messy puncture marks on her right arm, but otherwise she was a prime specimen. Dr. Baxter Stockman couldn't stand to see good resources put to waste; especially when he had a project in mind and highly interesting serums just waiting to be tested. To add to this, the poison in her system hadn't taken full effect yet. It just so happened that Stockman kept a store of the antidote.

This girl would be a very valuable tool for science. Yes, a very valuable tool indeed.

* * *

Her arm itched, right on the tender part by the elbow, and a sick cold feeling was trickling up her left arm. She was lying on something cold and hard. Then again, everything felt cold right now. Taking a breath, Sam tried to steel herself for any eventuality and opened her eyes.

The thing she was lying on was a metal table. Samantha was strapped down to the table with an IV running into her left arm. Her right arm was bandaged. The itching must be her arm healing from the injections. When Sam tried to shift her weight, she found that she was wearing something soft and thin… and that didn't close all the way in the back. For a fleeting moment of hope Sam thought she might be in a hospital, safe. That would explain the IV and the hospital robe, but not the metal table or the restraints. The hope flickered like a candle in the wind but Sam clung to it.

A black man with a patch over one eye and a fancy wheelchair rolled into the room. "Ah! You're awake!" He seemed genuinely pleased. His voice was warm and comfortable, like Sam's dad's voice.

"Where am I?" Sam asked, she tried to sit up but a leather strap across her chest restrained her.

"No, don't try to sit up. You are in my laboratory. I am Dr. Baxter Stockman." Samantha felt a wave of relief, so he was a doctor! There was no worry about this being a lab; Sam was sure those ninjas had injected her with some strange stuff and the hospital probably had to run some tests to find out what it was.

Dr. Stockman hooked something up to the IV stand. It was a bag of green fluid, almost a darkish neon green. Just looking at the color made Samantha nervous. Was medicine supposed to look that color? "What's that?"

He connected the bag to the tubes leading to Sam's arm. "This, my dear, is a very special serum I've made of a variety of fascinating substances. I plan to use it in much the same fashion as DNA therapy and observe the results. They should prove most interesting."

"You, you mean you don't know what it's supposed to do?" Sam's voice shook. She was beginning to rethink her earlier feelings of relief.

"Not really, no. I have a hypothesis of course, -and it's probably correct considering my intellect- but experimentation and discovery is one of the more enjoyable parts of my career field." He slid aside a little plastic tag and the sick green fluid crept down the tube leading to Sam's arm. Sam tried to pull her arm free. The closer that stuff got to the needle in her arm the closer Sam was to a panic attack.

"What's wrong with you? You can't do this to me!" Sam realized she was wrong even as she said it. Obviously, he could; he was about to. "Are you sick or something?"

"Strange. My old assistant said something like that to me." Dr. Stockman said conversationally as he tightened the restraints. The strange fluid slid into the catheter in Sam's arm, although she couldn't feel anything the thought alone made her retch. "Excuse me. I have much work to attend to." Dr. Stockman started to roll towards the door as casually as if Sam were there for a simple medical procedure. "One of my aids will take care of you when the infusion is finished."

"Where are you going? Let me out!" As soon as the door was open Sam started screaming for help again. This was about as effective as it had been with the ninja.

* * *

Travis sat in the doorway of his room, listening to the news as the reporter lady talked about his sister.

All police knew was that one week ago Sam had been seen walking along the route she usually took home from school. Then, she disappeared. Oroku Saki was interviewed and seemed greatly distressed that the young lady he met only the week before had gone missing. He personally promised to use his every resource to help the police try and find the missing girl.

Sam had thought that this guy was the greatest thing. She looked up to Mr. Saki the way Travis looked up to the Silver Sentry. He could hear her talking about how much this guy had done for the city and how amazing he was as a business man. Travis didn't care about all that. Just so long as this guy could find Sam and bring her home.

He really needed to talk to her. Not only did he miss her and not only was he terrified that something had happened to her, but he had stolen something of hers. It was a CD he had found on her desk. It didn't play in his CD player and before Travis had the chance to return it Sam had disappeared. He needed to give it back. And to apologize. And to make her promise she would never leave again.


	3. Prison Break

I do not own the TMNT themes or characters

* * *

Chapter Three: Prison Break

* * *

Sam sat on the bed, rubbing her arm. Her hair hung in dirty clumps over her face as she stared at the floor. She wasn't sure how long she had been trapped in this place. The only methods of measuring time were when meals were delivered and when she was taken out of her cell room for tests and infusions. Other than the infusions Sam had lost track of everything.

There had been five infusions total. Three of the infusions had been that disturbing green color. Two of them had been clear like water. Though Sam didn't know what the infusions were or what they were supposed to do, she did know that the symptoms they left behind frightened her.

After the second infusion, her skin had turned yellow for several meals before it suddenly darkened. Cramps set in after the third infusion, for five meals anything Sam ate was vomited into the small toilet next to the bed. Before the fourth infusion the cramps and nausea had subsided, but after the infusion the burning had set in. The pain came in waves, sometimes a faint annoyance in her spine or shoulders, others it was a debilitating burning pain over her entire back, chest, and shoulders.

For the moment, it wasn't so bad. The feeling kind of reminded her of the time she spent nine straight hours in front of the computer retyping a research report. She wasn't even thinking about the pain, and she steadfastly refused to think about the other symptoms. Instead she thought about Travis, or her schoolwork, or anything that wasn't in this place. For however long she had been in this facility Sam had refused to let her mind dwell on the symptoms any longer than it took to recognize that something was wrong. Sam was sure that if she thought about it for too long she would lose all motivation and give up. She'd heard people could do that, just give up and die. But if she did that she would never see her family again.

Instead she fought. The first time an aid came for her he'd easily dragged her into this room and shut her in. After that Sam had fought back. Now it took three or four strong aids to carry her out of the room for tests, examinations, or infusions. The nuns at the school would be shocked to see Sam fighting these men the way she did. The thought made a faint smile cross her face. The smile dropped when she heard a sound at the door.

The handle twisted open to reveal three nervous white-coated men. Sam stood and faced her enemies, ready to fight.

* * *

Five infusions. The girl was worth millions, more if the sixth infusion took as nicely as the first five had.

Saki would probably gut -literally, disembowel- Baxter Stockman if he knew that the doctor had commandeered the girl for this experiment, but if it worked Saki would finally see Stockman as the genius he truly was. Admittedly he was rushing the process, but with so few humans available to work with this had to be done in one shot, and before Saki discovered that the girl was still alive.

Stockman watched on the security monitors as the girl was taken in for simple tests. She was held for a photo record of her changing appearance. The aids then fought to get an accurate height and weight. This girl had turned into quite the hellion and made this highly entertaining for Stockman to watch. The aids were often bruised or bitten. One had been stuck with a contaminated needle, twice; but Stockman wasn't paying the interns this much money to sit around and read science journals.

When they started dragging the girl into radiology, Dr. Stockman called through on the intercom system and had to remind them to use the lead aprons and radiation tags, interns could be so foolish. After the x-rays, the aids carried the girl over to the MRI, possibly the most entertaining part of the entire process. They strapped her down and sat back in relief while the girl was moved into the heart of the machine and images of her innards were taken.

Stockman watched as the information was relayed to his personal lab computer. He began to take notes on any changes from previous scans when the stream of information was interrupted. Immediately he called down to radiology to demand an explanation but no one answered. Angry, he turned the security feedback on and discovered that there was no one in the MRI room. He searched through the different camera feeds until he spotted one of the interns, running down a hallway and looking desperately into every room. Another intern ran up and they spoke for only a moment before running off again, clearly searching for something.

Baxter Stockman's blood pressure began to steadily rise as he realized that they had lost the girl.

* * *

It was like clapping, the low sarcastic kind. That was the sound as she ran down the hall, her bare feet slapping the smooth floor tiles. Her thin hospital gown was damp with the sweat that coated Sam's skin from the running and the fresh wave of burning pain coming over her.

She had to get out, but there was no way to tell where out was. No windows, no stairs, it was a huge labyrinth of halls and doors. Down one hall, she found an emergency box containing a hose and a fire ax. Sam grabbed the little metal rod chained to the case and shattered the glass. Once she had the ax in hand she was off and running again.

The MRI had been her opportunity. One of the straps the aids had secured her with wasn't tight enough. She'd been able to get one hand free and use that hand to undo the other straps and escape. Now, she had to find an exit before they caught her.

Sam turned another corner at a run. Ahead of her, a guard in a black uniform waited for her. He wasn't a ninja but he was big and looked ready to stop anything that came his way. Sam wasn't ready to stop for anyone.

She charged directly toward the guard. Pulling back the ax she forced herself to think of what had been done to her: the tests, the infusions, the confinement, the exams. Just before she swung the guard put up his hands to protect himself, no such luck. The ax head struck the man on the side of the head. Blood splattered as the guard hit the floor. Only a little. He had been hit with the side of the ax, not the blade or the pick. Samantha might be desperate but she couldn't kill, not yet anyway. Later maybe she… not yet.

His belt held keys and a security card. Samantha tore the card off his belt and stepped over him to begin running again.

When she came to a door with a slot for a card she used the guard's and the door opened. She hurried through the door and froze. On the other side of the door was a laboratory, there were examination tables and tubes and jars filled with… Sam hoped those weren't human, she prayed those weren't human, for their sake. Sam turned and ran out the door she had just come through.

The running continued. More of that slow, sarcastic clapping.

* * *

Stockman had found her nearly fifteen minutes ago on the different security cameras. The girl had found an ax somewhere and proved to be able to wield it without killing. Fascinating. He thought about sending more guards after her, it really wouldn't do to have Saki find out about her, but another impulse took over.

After all, it was like the rat in the maze all over again. And if there was one thing he loved more than experimenting, it was testing new toys. His mousers had been upgraded; they should be able to capture the girl. Stockman grinned and began issuing commands on his computer terminal while the lab rats caged behind him began screeching.

* * *

A fresh wave of searing heat stopped Samantha's running. Still, she forced herself to continue trudging down yet another hall, her back ramrod straight as she tried to endure the burning. Her hair clung to the moisture on her face. She hoped this wave of pain would pass quickly so that she could focus on escaping.

Something was coming down the hall ahead of her. The hallway turned up ahead but she could hear some metallic clanking coming closer. She stopped again, waiting to see what it was and holding her ax at the ready. The clanking grew louder.

Around the corner came a little robot thing, no higher than Sam's knee and barely that. It almost looked cute.

Until it opened its mouth. It had metal blades for teeth and it made a scraping, roaring sound. Sam took a step back and lifted her ax higher. Two more of the robots came around the corner. Samantha knew when she was outnumbered. She turned and forced herself to run. Behind her Sam could hear the robot things following. They sounded like they were running, too.

Sam stopped in front of another door with a slot for a security card and used the guard's card. The door unlocked and Sam ran through. The robots were so close behind her that as the door slid shut it caught one of the little mechanical monsters. Using the ax, Sam knocked the robot back out in the hall and the door slid shut. There was scratching and crunching on the other side, but Sam was pretty sure she was safe for the moment.

Moisture on Sam's hands made it very hard to keep a firm grip on the ax. She dropped it onto the floor and tried to wipe her hands off on the hospital gown but the material was already so damp it didn't help much.

The growing sounds the little robots were making on the other side of the door told Sam that her short respite was nearly over. She bent over slowly and painfully, one hand braced against one of the metal cabinets that lined the walls as she reached for the ax. Her stomach felt like there were razor blades cutting into her skin when she bent it, her back felt like it was being stretched to the limit, but she needed that ax.

Gasping against the pain, Sam stood up, weapon in hand, just as the robots broke through the door.

* * *

"Mrs. Gelding, thank you for coming." Sister Francine shook hands with Mrs. Gelding over the desk, "Please, have a seat."

Mrs. Gelding sat down in the padded chair facing the headmistress's desk. "What did you want to see me about?" Not that Mrs. Gelding needed to ask. It was the same reason she had been in here the previous two meetings.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but Travis has been fighting again." The nun truly did look regretful over the news "This is the third time he's been in a fight since…" She hesitated.

"Since my daughter disappeared." Mrs. Gelding said bluntly. She hated how overly sensitive people were being about the issue, it wasn't like they were going to remind her of something she had forgotten. Samantha had been missing for more than two months and tip-toeing on eggshells wasn't going to help find her.

"Well, yes. You see, school policy is that after three fights we expel a student." The nun folded her hands on the desk in front of her, "The administrators have taken into consideration the suffering your family has gone through and has agreed to give him one more chance. But I warn you, this will be his absolute last opportunity."

"Of course." Mrs. Gelding replied, "I understand completely." That was the sum of their meeting. After exchanging more hollow niceties and a farewell the two women shook hands again and Mrs. Gelding left the office.

Outside the office, Travis sat on a chair holding an ice pack to his eye. He was a sight, covered in dirt, a fat lip, and his uniform torn and dirty. When he saw his mother he quickly stood up and handed the ice pack to the nurse that was sitting with him. This uncovered his swelling black eye.

As bad as he looked, Mrs. Gelding had seen the other boy before his mother swept him off to be petted and spoiled. Clearly, Travis had won the fight that earned his five-day suspension.

Travis hurried to his mother's side and slipped his hand into hers. It was heartbreaking to see her formerly independent young son clinging to his family like he expected them all to disappear. She held his hand as they walked out to the car. "Travis, why did you start that fight?"

"Because Dominick was telling lies." There wasn't a trace of guilt in the boy's voice.

"What kind of lies?"

"Bad ones." Mrs. Gelding felt herself start to smirk, but pushed it back. They reached her old Honda and she opened the door for Travis to scramble inside.

"What lies did Dominick tell?" Mrs. Gelding rephrased her question. She didn't close the door and remained standing on the sidewalk until her son answered her.

"He said that Sam ran away." That was the cause of the last two fights; it wasn't a surprise that it had caused this one as well.

"So, you hit him." It wasn't a question, but the answer was a bit of a surprise.

"No."

Mrs. Gelding lifted her eyebrows. She leaned against the door and prepared for what might come next, "Then who did?" She asked.

"I did, but not for that."

Again Mrs. Gelding braced herself for his next answer, "Why _did_ you hit him?"

Travis took a deep breath. He spoke rapidly, as if trying to spit a nasty taste from his mouth. "He said that Sam had run away and was standing on street corners with short skirts." He clamped his mouth shut, pressing his lips together in childlike disdain until the fat lip pained him and he had to stop. Mrs. Gelding almost slid off the car door. Her son was defending his sister's honor!

"You know something Travis?" She said.

Travis looked up at her, ready for any punishment or lecture that came his way. "What?"

Mrs. Gelding closed the passenger door and moved to the driver's side. She climbed in, shut the door, and was pulling her belt into place when she smiled at her son, "I'm not commending your fighting Travis, but I think we both need some ice-cream don't you?" Travis's face broke into a grin. The first anyone had seen on him in months.

"Yeah!"

* * *

The first swing of the ax knocked the little robot onto its side and the edge of the blade stuck in tile floor. Pain lanced through Sam's abdomen as she tugged the ax. When the pain cleared enough for her to look up she screamed and ducked as another of the little monsters jumped at her. It landed somewhere behind her. Sam pulled the ax free just in time to bat aside the third robot and run for the door.

Once back in the hallway Sam turned and struck the second mechanical monster before it could catch her from behind. She struck it with the blade but this only knocked the metal demon away. Sam ran in the other direction.

As the robots' clanking footsteps followed her, Sam rounded a corner and saw the most beautiful sight in the world: an elevator! She put everything she had left into a sprint and nearly crashed into the back of the elevator car. She spun around, hit the button for the bottom floor and waited for the doors to close. Every movie she had seen with an elevator scene in it told her to prepare for a fight as the robots came closer and the doors slowly slid shut. For once luck was on her side and the doors closed before the robots were anywhere close to the doors.

Samantha leaned against the back of the elevator car and sighed. She saw the shiny walls reflecting her own distorted alien image back at her and despite the pain she started to laugh. She had won! The sensation of the adrenaline and tension draining from her body made her slightly nauseous and she still hurt, but she was basically scott-free. She would be home soon! Sam would get out of here and she would get to a hospital! They would fix her and she would send the police after Stockman. Everything would work out fine now.

Sam laughed, letting off the tension as the elevator brought her down to a lower level. She looked at the buttons for the floors and continued to laugh when she realized that she hadn't hit the button for the ground floor but one of the basements, the fourth one. Looking up at the little numbers over the door Samantha saw that she had just passed the ground floor, but that was fine; she could easily get back up. It was just a little more time to collect herself.

Somewhere between the first and second basements the elevator jerked violently and stopped.


	4. Elevator

I do not own the mousers or Baxter Stockman.

* * *

Chapter Four: The Elevator

* * *

The elevator jerked again.

Sam lost her balance and fell to the floor, holding the ax away so as not to kill herself with it. The shift from complete survival mode to sweet relief had been bad enough, swinging back into absolute terror was almost unbearable. This wasn't fair, what was wrong _this_ time?

Something struck the top of the elevator car; the clank that rang out was all too familiar. Just as Sam realized it was another one of those evil robot things the car gave another terrifying jolt. She bit back a scream, only a faint whimper escaped.

Then came the scraping and crunching, metal against metal. That thing was trying to get into the elevator just as they had broken through the door of that lab. From the sound of it the robot was succeeding. She could hear the metal starting to give and tear. Sam tried to sit up to defend herself, but was thrown back to the floor by yet another jerk, this one more violent than the last few, lifting her from the floor before she dropped again. Overhead, higher even than the robot on top of the car was the sound of metal creaking and groaning.

"Please stop." Sam begged, her voice high and panicky, "Please…" She looked up at the ceiling, the crunching was louder and she could see the metal bending as the robot came closer to breaking through. "Please," She prayed.

The elevator shuddered one last time, the creaking high overhead announced that something was about to give and it did, the elevator plummeted the last two and a half floors to the bottom.

Samantha didn't know if she screamed. Probably, but when she and the elevator finally landed the pain that had been holding her took over and she blacked out.

* * *

The mousers had gone into the elevator shaft and Stockman had no idea what they had done after that until he received word that the elevator car had crashed at the bottom of the shaft. Those idiot machines must have chewed through the brakes and cables controlling the elevator!

Fortunately, building repairs were technically under Stockman's control. It would be up to his people to get to the bottom of the shaft first and retrieve the body before Foot tech arrived to investigate why the elevator had failed. He sighed and shrugged it off as a lesson for the future. Hopefully he could still glean some useful information from the remains.

Just as it was the pain that had knocked her out it was pain that woke her up. Sam opened her eyes and looked down, or rather over, to where one of the little robots was pulling on her leg. She yanked her leg from its jaws and scrambled away from it, looking around for its counterparts. The robot gave its weird roar and started after her. It seemed to be damaged, it sounded funny and limped.

* * *

Sam shifted to her knees and lifted the ax overhead, then swung it down with a grunt. The pick crunched into the thing with a shower of electric sparks and one last robotic wail.

For a minute, Sam sat there gasping for breath against the pain clutching her chest and staring at the remains of this little robot. "H-h-okay, now… where are the other two?" It was kind of reassuring, hearing her own voice. Sam looked around the inside of the elevator. The walls were even further distorted, reflecting only splashes of green and the ax's red paint.

She stood up and lifted the ax; the robot's body clung to it until Sam placed her foot on the robot and pulled the ax free.

The elevator doors were bent as badly as the walls, that wouldn't be Sam's way out. She looked up and saw the emergency exit. The panel was already loose. Sam lifted her ax again and pushed the panel further aside. Something scraped and another of the robots fell to the floor, Sam screamed and jumped back with her ax ready to swing.

The robot didn't move. After a minute Sam lowered the ax and used it to poke the robot. It didn't move from its position on its side. Sam nudged the thing again and it rolled over, the other side was smashed by something thin and long. "That means one left." Sam told herself, again taking reassurances from the normalcy of her voice.

Once again, she lifted the ax and pushed aside the panel, nothing fell at her this time. She hooked the ax head on a corner of the emergency exit and took a deep breath before trying to heave herself up.

A small cry tore from her throat as the pain clamped tighter over her back and across her chest. Sam released the ax handle and staggered until her back met the wall of the elevator car. She rubbed her eyes vigorously against the tears that were streaming from them. After several deep, painful breaths she looked back at the ax handle, it was hanging there so innocently.

"I'm going," she said, "I am going to get out." Samantha pushed herself off the wall and moved back to the ax handle. She checked to make sure it was still securely wedged in the corner and put her hands as high up on the handle as they would go, "I'm leaving." Sam told the ax. Bracing herself for the wave of agony she jumped, "Now!"

She pulled herself up and held herself there fighting the crushing pain until her arms started to shake. Slowly she let go with one hand and reached up for the edge of the emergency access. Once her grip there was assured she lifted the other hand. Sam used the ax in her second hand as leverage to slide her arm over the edge. She pulled herself up until both arms were on top of the car, then bit her lip and swung her leg up to catch the other ledge. Finally, she rolled onto the roof of the car, gasping for breath and covered in sweat and tears. Her body felt like it had been chopped to pieces and crushed back together, but she was out.

Smiling through the pain in triumph Sam lay still, resting for several minutes. Once her breathing had returned to normal, give or take a minor hitch, Sam reminded herself that there were people probably looking for her; she had to get moving.

Slowly Samantha opened her eyes, still not moving, and examined the elevator shaft above her. There was no ladder, no rungs in the wall or even handholds for climbing to a higher level in case of such an emergency.

Sam grunted. "Typical."

A few more breaths to feel sorry for herself before Sam rolled onto her stomach and pushed to her knees.

The top of the elevator car was several inches below the top of the door for the elevator shaft. Sam was relieved to see that the outer doors had been forced partially open by the car's fall; it shouldn't take much more to get the doors wide enough to slip through.

Samantha crawled to the small opening, dragging the ax with her. By now she had lost the security card but she refused to release the ax.

Once she was next to the opening Sam braced her side against one door and put a foot against the other. She paused when she saw that her leg was coated in blood. There were several deep cuts where the robot had gotten its teeth into her. The thought of what might have happened if she hadn't woken up made her swallow reflexively.

Pushing this problem from her mind Sam inhaled deeply despite the resistance in her chest then pushed. Nothing happened, but Sam took another breath and pressed harder, forcing herself to fight the metal until the pressure on her stomach and back had her screaming through her teeth. The elevator doors slowly scraped open another foot. Reaching that goal, Sam gasped and choked; the burning in her ribs, shoulders, and spine now worse than it had before, every bone in her torso seemed to be clambering for attention. This wave of pain was far worse than anything she'd had before.

Sam didn't realize she was just sitting there until she heard noises and voices high overhead. There were people in the shaft and she couldn't let them catch her. Sam slid her legs out through the opening and then pushed the rest of her body out. She fell a short distance to the floor and climbed to her feet, pushing through fresh pain.

She was in a small room, like a security room. On one side was the elevator; on the other was a large metal door with an LED screen next to it.

 _Enter Authorization Code_

 _1-2-3-4-5_

 _6-7-8-9-0_

 _A-B-C-D-E_

Samantha looked more closely at the panel. The idea nagged at her that she should enter something, probably the childish temptation to push buttons. She reached out a finger, paused while thinking, and then pressed the B.

The blue letter obediently turned green. Sam pressed the seven, trying to remember the badge number from the aid she'd twice jabbed with a needle. The seven also lit from blue to green. Three, four, and nine did the same. She hit the D key and hoped she hadn't forgotten anything. Her thumb brushed over the blue line on the bottom of the pad and the entire screen lit up. In response to whatever code she had entered the large metal door slid open.

The room on the other side was dark. Sam slowly stepped out into the room and lights flashed on. She jumped back into the smaller room, waiting to see who had turned on the lights.

Nobody came. After several minutes, the lights went out again. Samantha stepped back through the door, the lights came on again. Motion sensitive lights. Sam would have smiled at her foolishness if the situation were different. Instead she proceeded into this new place.

The larger room was almost like a huge garage but no normal garage held vehicles like this. Some looked like rocket propelled sleds -big ones- others contraptions looked like anime battle suits and were easily four or five times taller than Sam and there were other machines of huge proportion that Sam had no idea what they would do. Most of them were still being built; parts were strewn across the floor in a manner that Sam's father would have described as 'organized chaos'.

Sam picked her way through the parts and tools lying around the floor. She wasn't sure where she was going or if there was another way out, but she had to keep going. Whatever forward held Sam was sure it couldn't be as bad as what she was leaving behind.

About halfway through the room Sam had to step over a pile of scraps and parts. As she did, her foot slipped and Sam crashed to the floor with a grunt. The pain she had been trying to ignore flared up with a vengeance.

Minutes passed before the pain eased just enough to let Sam pull herself up to a sitting position. She looked down at what had caused her to slip. Blood was streaked across the floor like some horror movie. It was her own. The cuts from the robot's bite had been bleeding the entire time. She didn't know how she didn't notice until now.

Staring at the blood introduced a myriad of new concerns: infection, blood loss, slipping again, and even being tracked by the trail she was leaving. Her injured leg had to be covered immediately. Sam looked around for a clean cloth or anything that could be used and didn't see anything. When she shifted positions to look in another direction she felt cloth that she already had on her person, the hospital robe.

Looking down at the pale, damp and nearly sheer cloth Sam felt her years of Catholic school and good upbringing rebel at the idea.

She pushed the idea from her mind and tried to stand again only to slip and fall once more. "Fine!" Sam shouted at the room in general, "But I don't want to hear any complaints about this!" She felt foolish shouting at the empty room, even if her words were intended for somebody to hear; more or less. Without allowing herself another thought Sam tried to reach behind her. The pain restricted her movement and she settled for seizing the front collar of the robe and jerking it forward, unsnapping the neck and tearing off the first tie. After that she carefully slipped out of the robe and wiped off her feet before tying the cloth around her leg.

That taken care of Sam stood again, this time successfully. She shivered and avoided looking down at her front for fear of embarrassing herself.

On the far wall there was a control panel. It held an important looking lever in addition to a microphone and the obligatory anonymous buttons. Without stopping to examine it for its purpose or intention Sam reached out and grabbed the lever. It took a little force, but she managed to pull it back until a nerve shattering clank echoed through the room. A strangely muted rumbling accompanied the moving of a giant section of wall. The resulting opening was large enough for one of the battle suits to fit through.

Sam stared at the opening dumbly until she reminded herself that forward was better and moved towards the space. She missed seeing the lever slowly begin to return to its previous position.

On the other side of the gap in the wall Sam found a large tunnel. The air in there was damp and stank. Stone tunnel extended on either side of her and a small trickle of water ran across the floor.

"The… sewers?" Sam asked. In reply to her inquiry the panel of wall behind her slid back into place. The light in the tunnel had been completely provided by that open spot and as soon as it was sealed Sam was left in complete darkness.

This presented new problems. To avoid getting hopelessly lost in these tunnels until she starved to death Sam had to find a way back to the streets. She needed a way to determine direction despite the dark. Sam closed her eyes and reconstructed what she had seen before the darkness had been complete.

The water! The direction of the water flow could guide her back to civilization. All she had to do was determine which direction it was flowing in and move uphill until she found its source.

Samantha slid her feet across the slimy floor until one foot encountered cold, running water. She used this foot to block the flow and waited. After several minutes, she was sure that it was pooling up on her right. That was the direction she took.

* * *

Karai lifted one of the mousers from her desk. All three of the robots' remains were on her desk. The one Karai held had been struck by an elevator cable and disabled. The second had been stabbed by something. The third had been detached from the elevator's pulley system and was no longer recognizable as a mouser.

All three were now part of the investigation into the elevator crash. Stockman was furious that he was not immediately given his mousers back but that was his issue. Karai's issue was the video feed currently playing on the monitor of her computer.

On her monitor a green, biped experiment walked across the bay where prototype machines for the Shredder were constructed. The experiment escaped out into the sewers on Karai's screen before the clip replayed, the experiment came out of the elevator and examined the LED screen…

What bothered Karai was how… different this experiment seemed from the other experiments Stockman churned out. This one was clearly intelligent and there was something else familiar about her -it.

Setting the mouser back on her desk, Karai turned to the computer and started digging into the system. Her authorization tore past any security checks and unauthorized firewalls were easily passed thanks to a program provided by the eager to please Dr. Chaplin. After nearly an hour of searching and hacking Karai finally found what she was looking for. It did not make her happy. Not happy at all.

* * *

Oroku Saki was not happy, not happy at all. His foot ninja had failed to gain entry to a simple civilian apartment building. It had been months and still they could not get inside one simple, unsecured building. Saki swore that if he did not get that disk soon heads would roll, quite literally.

If those freaks had not intervened he would have the disk already…

"Mr. Saki?" Somebody asked. Oroku Saki looked up at the man across his new desk from him, pen and paper in hand with a small recording device on the table. "Mr. Saki if this is a bad time I could come back later." The reporter said.

"No, my apologies. I was temporarily distracted by a pressing matter. You were saying about the school?" Saki quickly covered.

"Yes, my paper would like to know if the donation you gave to the school was at all related to the girl who disappeared a few months ago." The reporter smiled, admiration gleaming in his eyes. "But I think I have my answer."

Saki nodded solemnly, giving every impression of suffering lingering concern over the girl's fate. What was her name again? It didn't matter. Her body was long gone by now.

* * *

Baxter Stockman pounded on the keys of his keyboard, furious. He was so close! The experiment was nearly complete and his test subject escapes! Just as he had been about to launch a search for the girl hordes of security personnel swarm her escape route trying to figure out what had happened to a stupid elevator! While Stockman desperately wanted his experiment back he couldn't risk Saki finding out that the girl he'd ordered dead was still alive.

Stockman reluctantly turned to one of his other projects, hoping to kill time until he could go searching for his experiment. As he worked he was shaken out of his forced sense of concentration when an identical alert appeared on every monitor of his lab. He quickly checked to see what the cause was. A smile spread across his face as his eyes followed the information rapidly being transmitted to his screen.

He wheeled over to the room where the lab rats were kept. Stockman watched in delight as the animals twitched violently against the mutation taking hold in their bodies. The accelerating agent he had infused in the rats and the girl had just reached critical mass. This was forcing the genetic material to produce living, altered tissues at a rate that was visible to the naked eye!

Stockman regretted that the girl had escaped before he could see the climax of the mutation take place.

* * *

Something scampered past Sam in the dark. She swallowed and continued forward. Hopefully the more rats and cockroaches she heard the closer she was to the surface.

From time to time the tunnels branched off into other tunnels. Sam carefully made sure to keep following the flow of water uphill. Sometimes there was an overhead light bulb or something but for the most part Sam traveled in darkness. One hand trailed along the rough stone walls while the other used the ax as a cane.

The pain was worse now. Every breath fought to draw air, then resisted the movement exhaling brought. Every step was slow, but Sam kept going. She was scared that if she stopped she wouldn't be able to keep going. Her mind felt fuzzy, as if normal thinking was being blurred by the sheer force that the pain brought with it. If she took a break Sam was sure that she would give in and lose consciousness. Instead she kept putting one step in front of the other.

She would get to the surface. Then she would get to a hospital. They would fix her. The cops would go after Stockman and everything would be alright. If she just kept going everything would be all right.

Everything would be all right.

Everything would be…

Samantha never felt herself hit the ground.


	5. Fluffy White Clouds

I do not own the nameless characters that almost make an appearance here

* * *

Chapter Five: Fluffy White Clouds

* * *

"Miss Gelding! You haven't turned in any of the assignments. Just what do you have to say for yourself?"

Sam blinked up at Sister Abigail. "I'm sorry. I couldn't do the work I was…" She stopped. Where was she? What had she been doing?

"You were being _slothful_ , Miss Gelding!" The nun scolded her.

"I was _not_!" Sam leapt to her feet in indignation. Snickers of laughter broke out from the students around her and grew steadily louder. She looked down and realized in horror that she was still wearing the filthy hospital gown, but how? Samantha was sure she had changed out of it. She knew she had when, when…

When?

"Miss Gelding, you cannot be bothered to wear decent clothing -much less the proper school uniform. I suggest you head home until you learn some modesty and decorum."

Sam flushed, humiliated. She stepped away from her desk and tried to leave the room with as much dignity as she could muster, though she was followed by the other students' laughter.

Free of the classroom, Sam dashed to her hall locker. After two wrong attempts, she pulled the lock off and opened the locker door. She was so mad and embarrassed she told herself she would never come back to this school. It wasn't her fault! Samantha grabbed her track uniform and slammed the door shut.

Travis had been standing behind the locker door with his head bowed.

"Travis! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in class?" her little brother raised his head. Sam was startled to see his face streaked with tears and bright red, the way it always got when he cried.

"Where were you, Sam?" He demanded.

"I'm right here." Sam knelt to Travis's level. She was as confused by his behavior as she was his presence at her school.

"You never came home!" He insisted, "I waited but you never came home!" He looked so hurt and betrayed Sam was sure she would start crying herself.

"I'm back now, Travis! I'm back! Everything will be alright!" Sam tried to pull him into a hug but he backed away.

"You never came home!"

"Travis, wait. Let me explain!"

"You never came home!" Travis yelled one last time. He turned and ran from her. Sam tried to chase after him but she suddenly felt so heavy. She couldn't get up off the floor.

The floor was rough and cold, making her shiver. It was also damp and stank badly, like when the boy's bathroom had flooded. Something furry brushed past Sam and she tried to get away, but she couldn't move.

She couldn't move. Her arms were pinned to her side and she couldn't move, "Daddy!" She laughed, "Put me down! I want to swim!" Sam didn't really care if her dad put her down or not, but her friends were watching and she had to act more grown up. Grownups and teenagers didn't cuddle. Her dad laughed and dropped her into the lake water.

The water was cold, so cold.

Fur brushed against her skin again. Something warm and furry pulled on her arm and side until she rolled onto her back. Wood started to slide across her palm and Sam clutched the handle tighter, wouldn't let go, wouldn't let go for the world. She held on tight, but the handle still slipped from her fingers, brushing over sensitive skin.

The wood tickled her as it slid from her hand. "Run Kelly! Run!" Sam cheered as Kelly took the baton and sprinted down the track, their anchor to finish the race.

"Look out!" Somebody yelled. Another runner crashed into Sam from behind and they both hit the ground in a tangled heap. The track coach ran over and checked the kid who was now in Sam's lap. The girl looked up, dazed as the coach checked her eyes and felt her forehead.

"It appears that you have a bad fever." He sighed, "I cannot leave you here alone." Sam squinted at the coach. _Alone?_ She thought, _But I'm with her._ She blinked and squinted again. The coach was dark, blurry. Everything was. Somebody gripped Sam's wrist and pulled her into a sitting position, there was pressure on her chest.

"It's too tight." Sam complained.

"That's because it's a girdle, Samantha!" Her mother laughed, pulling the straps tighter still, "And remember, women used to tie them a lot tighter than this."

"Ugh, how did they breathe?"

"Simple, they didn't." Sam felt herself being jerked around as her mother tied it off the girdle without letting it loosen any.

"With all this junk, how were they supposed to get dressed?"

"With maids, or sisters, or," One last jerk and a pat on the shoulder, "With their mother's help."

Sam smiled and looked over her shoulder as her mother pulled out the next layer of clothing. Her mom was already dressed in a flowing ice blue gown that was just stunningly beautiful. But then, her mom often had that effect on clothing. "Mom?"

"What is it Sam?" Mrs. Gelding asked. She fingered through the lacy, frilly layers to find the hem.

"Next time some eccentric cousin wants us to come to her theme wedding…"

"Yes?" Her mom bunched up the material and Sam raised her hands.

"Tell her I've got the mumps." Mrs. Gelding's warm laugh rang out. She reached forward and slipped the dress over her daughter's head.

The cloth was softer than it looked and it smelled of generic detergent without fabric softener. It slid off her shoulders as someone lifted her to a sitting position. They kept their arm behind her shoulders to support her and gently pressed a glass to her lips. "Drink." Sam opened her mouth and bitter liquid dripped onto her tongue. She hated tea, it was so nasty and this stuff was especially bitter.

"The lemon will make your throat feel better and the honey is so it doesn't taste so bad." Sam told Travis. He wrinkled his nose skeptically, but drained the cup anyway. Sam smiled, pleased. Footsteps in the hallway made Sam hurry back to bed.

The footsteps came into her room, "I have the IV setup." Somebody said, it had to be a doctor. Sam hoped it was a good doctor. If he did anything to hurt Travis…

Cold, callused hands lifted Sam's arm. A needle was pressed into her skin. "NO!" Her eyes shot open and she fought against the aids with all her strength. She would not allow anymore infusions! She would fight!

"You said she was in a 'weakened condition'!" One of the aids growled. Weight pressed down on Sam's stomach and chest. An aid held her shoulders while another grabbed her legs through the blanket. Sam snarled and struggled. She managed to pull an arm free and tried to scratch while looking for an opportunity to bite. They wouldn't win! She wouldn't let them!

"She was! Hand me that syringe… There!" Sam felt another needle enter her shoulder. She screamed. "Hold her still."

"Easier said than done!" A hand caught her wrist and forced it down. She thrashed her head and struggled as much as she could but was unable to stop the aids.

Fur brushed over her skin. A warm hand rested on her forehead. "Rest. You are safe. Rest." A voice murmured. The voice was familiar, where had she heard it before?

"Sam? Samantha!" Sam turned to find Travis waiting for her. "Come on!" He grinned, "And remember; I get to pick the pizza tonight!"


	6. Strangest of Strangers

I do not own the TMNT or related characters and themes.

* * *

Chapter Six: Strangest of Strangers

* * *

Samantha realized that she was being lifted again. "Drink." A gentle male voice encouraged. Cool glass pressed against Sam's lips and she opened her mouth. She tasted milk and almost smiled; the people at the lab had never given her milk.

"Well what do ya' know?" Another male said; this one rough and young. "She's finally drinkin' again."

"Yes, this is good." The glass emptied and was taken away. Sam was gently lowered back onto the bed.

"Think she'll wake up soon?"

"I do not know, perhaps."

Sam opened her eyes. They felt like sandpaper and everything was blurry. She blinked until things started to clear up and looked to where the voices were. Two individuals stood talking about something. Sam blinked some more. One looked like a giant, walking and- yes- talking turtle. The other Sam wasn't so sure about but she thought it looked like a giant rat; wearing a robe no less.

 _I can't handle this yet._ Sam thought, drifting back to sleep.

* * *

Sam was alone when she woke again. She lay still, searching for the crippling pain that had been present before she lost consciousness. The only pain she felt was a mad itching on the leg that the robot had grabbed. Carefully, Sam sat up and pulled back the blankets. Her leg was bandaged from ankle to knee. The clean white bandage striking against Sam's mottled green skin.

As she sat she felt a dull, painless pressure on her chest. Her front was covered by something hard and pale. Whatever it was it covered her about as well as a one-piece swimsuit. She figured it was probably a brace of some kind. Her stomach and back had hurt so much before and now the pain was replaced by a vague numbness that confused her. Maybe there was medication under the brace.

Sam pushed the blankets aside and stood. She noticed for the first time an IV stuck into her wrist. Sam pulled the tape off and removed the catheter; there would be no more infusions for her. Using one hand to put pressure on the puncture in her skin and the other to brace herself against a wall, Sam moved closer to the door.

A giant turtle hurried through the door and was clearly surprised to see her up and about. He told her so, "EEEK!"

Sam gasped and stumbled back. Something pulled her off balance and she fell to the floor. Her back hit the bed frame but the brace thing protected her. The turtle's eyes grew wide behind the orange mask he wore and he stepped forward, hands up and fretting. "Careful! Donnie says your shell's kinda' soft right now." He reached down and helped Sam to her feet.

"I, I, you that is um... You're a," Sam replied brilliantly. His hand felt different, she looked down and saw that he had two fingers and a thumb. The hand was warm, why had she been sure it would be cold? " I... uh…" She had _thought_ the turtle she had seen earlier was another delusion. She had _hoped_ it was a delusion. The existence of big, big, walking, talking _turtles_ just called too much into question. It was almost easier to believe she was losing her grip.

The turtle grinned, his mouth was _huge_. "Yep! I'm a turtle, just like you!"

"You… turtle… sure… makes… What do you mean just like me?" Sam asked. His grin grew bigger and he turned around, showing off his brown shell like it answered everything.

Sam stared for a moment, and then tried to get a look at her own back. Something tan was just sticking up behind her shoulder. What was _that?!_ All of this was too much to take in. Questions flooded her mind and she tried to catch her breath, but it was running away from her. What had Stockman done to her? Was she sick? Was this turtle Stockman's work, too? Was she just being held until Stockman came? Above all what was going on?! This didn't make sense! It wasn't possible! What had happened?! The room started to spin.

"Uh-oh. DONNIE!" Sam had already tuned the turtle out, she was staring at her chest trying to get a better look at what she had thought was a brace. She ran her hands over it and felt several stiff sections covering her chest and abdomen. She couldn't get her fingers between it and her skin. Trying stung.

"What is it Mikey? She's awake!" The sound of her own rapid breathing flooded her ears as Sam hand slid over to her side. She felt a tough but smooth and flexible substance that connected the front to the back of her… shell?! The turtle had said shell earlier! What was that supposed to mean?!

"I think she's hyperventilating!" Sam's vision was getting fuzzy. Hands grabbed her wrists and gently pulled them in front of her. Sam looked down; her gaze followed the furry hands clutching her wrists up until she met the eyes of the rat she had thought was also a delusion.

"Listen to me." The rat said. Sam tried, but it was hard, "You must calm down," He told her in his soft, gentle voice. "Try and tell me your name."

"I…uh…" Sam swallowed hard, "Samantha." She could hear her voice shaking and scratch badly but her breathing began to return to normal as she listened to him talk and tried to focus on his voice.

"Miss Samantha, I found you lying in the tunnels, deathly ill. Whatever may have happened to you before; you are now with friends. We wish to help you but you must calm down. You are safe. Do you understand?"

Sam nodded slowly. She took a deep, slow breath and forced the panic from her mind. Panic hadn't helped her at the lab it wouldn't help her here. "Yes." She finally answered.

"Good." The rat placed Sam's hands on her lap. They itched with the need to hold something so she clasped them together, wondering what had happened to the ax. "Now, once you have had something to eat and drink, explanations are in order." Sam nodded, trying to listen and focus. She took another deep, slow breath.

Sam rubbed her eyes and tried to get a firmer grasp of herself. Slowly she pushed her worries and fears down, once again shoving them aside until an unknown later date. She continued to take deep, slow breaths until she stopped shaking. Her hands slid down her face and she opened her eyes again. Now that she was in better control of herself, Sam saw that three other turtles had come into the room without her noticing. She hoped there weren't any more of them. She couldn't take any more strangeness. Heck, she couldn't take this much.

"I, I'm sorry. Thank you." The rat nodded in understanding.

He glanced over his shoulder to one of the turtles staring at Sam, "Michelangelo, I believe our guest is hungry." The turtle in question didn't move. "Michelangelo!" The rat ordered louder.

The turtle flinched, "Food. Right. My department." He smiled and ran out the door. Michelangelo returned in a surprisingly short amount of time with an impossible amount of food balanced on his arms and hands. A large pitcher with cups was balanced on his head.

"Mikey!" One of the other turtles jumped up and took the pitcher off the first turtle's head.

The first turtle grinned again as he announced, "Soup's on! Grab it or starve!" He winked at Sam and placed a large plate of sandwiches and chips on the bed next to Sam. "Except for the pretty young miss." Sam flushed. She wasn't sure whether he was just being nice or making fun of her. There was no way she fit the description of 'pretty' right now.

The smell of roasted ham reached her nose and her stomach was reminded what hunger was. It remembered loudly. The mutants smiled or snickered as Sam's face continued to warm. The rat merely smiled. "Please, eat your fill and I will tell you of how we, my sons and I, came to be."

Sam obediently lifted a sandwich off her plate and took a bite. It was delicious, but after the food she had been given in the lab anything without that nasty chalky taste in it was delicious. Her stomach demanded more and she was more than happy to oblige.

The turtle with the purple mask leaned over and whispered something to the turtle who had brought the food. Michelangelo rolled his eyes, "Yes Donnie, I put veggies in her sandwiches… yuck." That seemed to satisfy the curious turtle.

"Now." The rat said. All four turtles quickly sat down on the floor around the rat. "My name is Hamato Splinter. Many years ago…" He was a good story teller. His style and voice were easy and enjoyable to follow. As for the turtles, they sat with expressions on their faces much like the ones on Travis's and Sam's when their parents told stories that they had heard hundreds of times before but still wanted to hear again. At some point Michelangelo interrupted but he was shushed by his brothers, who didn't want to miss anything.

When the rat, Splinter -no, _Master_ Splinter (how did a rat earn a title?) told Sam about teaching his sons ninjitsu Samantha was confused. "The way of the ninja." He kindly explained when he saw her confusion. Sam doubted they were related to the ninja that had first kidnapped her but the idea still made her nervous.

Finally, in grand story-teller fashion, Master Splinter finished his story by introducing his adopted sons.

"Leonardo," The blue masked turtle nodded.

"Donatello," The turtle in purple waved, smiling almost shyly.

"Michelangelo,"

"Hey there!" Michelangelo hammed it up, grinning and pointing to himself.

"…and Raphael."

The turtle with the red mask grabbed Michelangelo's mouth and held it shut, "Sup'." He greeted her. The family looked at her expectantly.

"Uh, nice to meet you." Sam managed stiffly. "I guess I should tell you about me now, huh?"

"Totally." Michelangelo shook free of his brother and flopped down beside her on the bed, "Your likes, your dislikes, your IM name, are you an Aquarius?" He took her hand in his and gave her a cheesy grin. Sam stared at him.

"Can it, Mikey." The red masked turtle, Raphael, grabbed his brother by the tails coming off his mask and pulled his brother away from Sam.

"Just tell us how you got to where Master Splinter found you." Leonardo asked. He looked very serious, but Sam didn't miss how he kept looking to his father.

"Leo! No way!" Michelangelo grinned from his restrained position on the floor, "She's got to tell a story for a story! So, make it good!" His playful attitude was helping Sam to relax.

"I'll try." She assured him. Sam paused to collect her thoughts, as she did so the turtles settled down. She decided to introduce herself as Master Splinter had. "My name is Samantha Gelding." Donatello's eyes widened but he didn't interrupt. "Before all this got started I had a normal, if boring, life. Catholic school, nuclear family, normal boring. I'm not sure how long ago it was right now, but I was on my way home from school when somebody grabbed me…" She told the story in nearly full detail. Every time she tried to glaze over part of it the turtles and sometimes even Master Splinter encouraged her to explain more fully until, "…I must have passed out at some point." Sam finished.

They mulled over what Sam had just told them. "That would explain why you panicked when Don stuck you with a needle." Raphael said.

"I'm sorry about that." No, she wasn't. But Donatello seemed a nice enough guy that he deserved an apology.

The quiet turtle smiled. "Perfectly understandable. I have a question I need you to elaborate on."

"What do you want to know?"

"You said your name was Samantha _Gelding_? As in G-E-L-D-I-N-G?" He asked. Sam nodded. "The week before your abduction, by any chance, did you get a ride from Oroku Saki?" The others stared at Donatello like he had lost his mind.

They shifted their vaguely horrified expressions to Sam when she answered. "Yeah, I did. How did you know that?" Sam hadn't mentioned it. She didn't think it was pertinent information. Heck, it didn't even feel all that special to her after all she had been through since then. How did a car ride with a wealthy business man measure up to sitting and talking with _mutants_?

"Samantha, just how long do you think you've been missing?" Donatello asked gently.

"I don't know. At least a month, maybe more." Time had lost its meaning for her in the lab.

Donatello frowned, his brow knit and wrinkled the mask over his eyes. "Sam, you were on the news! You've been missing almost eleven weeks now, including the four days since we first found you."

"That's impossible." There was no way Sam had been missing more than a few weeks. She didn't remember that much, and besides that; girls had a method of measuring a month.

Then again, she had spent an awful lot of time unconscious. And her cell hadn't exactly had a clock and calendar. As for the monthly measurement; who's to say that her body didn't change more than just externally? There had been a lot of internal pain and a lot of the tests…

"That's impossible." Sam repeated. Her mind started spinning again and she stared at her hands. They were as green as they had been for, for how long Sam wasn't sure.

What had they done to her?

As the reality of Donatello's words sunk in Sam covered her face with her hands. She could feel differences in its shape from what she was used to but had not had the opportunity to find a mirror yet. She didn't want to. In all this confusion only one thought remained clear.

"When can I go home?"

At that moment, Mikey would rather deal with a ticking nuclear warhead in the kitchen than answer this girl's question. She didn't get it, she really didn't understand! How could you tell a girl who had just been sick after undergoing what she had gone through 'Gee, sorry, but like they say, you can't go home again!'

Master Splinter was also at a loss for words while Leo and Raph both looked distinctly uncomfortable. Then, there was good old Donnie. "Samantha, you've been sick -really sick- for a long time now. I think you need a couple more days rest at least."

Sam nodded, although she didn't seem to like what he was saying. In the uncomfortable silence that followed Mikey suddenly got an idea, "But hey! While you're here, why don't I give you the grand tour!" He stepped over beside Samantha and held out an arm like a gentleman. She slowly stood and accepted the extended arm. As Mikey half led, half helped her out of the room he started the tour by announcing "Normally I charge big bucks and expect a reservation in advance, but since I have an opening about now anyway…"

Once they were out of sight and hearing, Donnie heaved a huge sigh of relief while Master Splinter rubbed at the headache forming between his eyes.

"You were right, Leo." Raph said, "Mikey isn't completely useless."

"She's going to have to find out sooner or later." Leo said.

Master Splinter moved to the door. He could see Michelangelo excitedly explaining the intricacies of why Donatello's lab was a dangerous place to their guest. "I do not believe she will accept the fact if we explain it to her." He said. "Perhaps discretion is the best course."

"What?" Raphael was confused.

"What do you mean, sensei?" Leonardo asked.

"Miss Gelding has been through much. If we were to explain to her the need to hide from those on the surface; rather than face the truth of her altered identity, Miss Gelding may force herself to believe that we mean to imprison her here."

Michelangelo had moved to the monitoring area where he was clearly bragging about his Battle Nexus trophy.

"But why would anyone do somethin' like that?" Raphael asked.

Samantha stared at the trophy for a moment. She must have said something because Michelangelo seemed to deflate in his shell. He soon recovered and led the way to the next part of the tour

"Think about it, Raph." Donnie explained, "For Samantha to have gotten through what the Foot and Stockman did to her and still have the will to fight back and escape she must have had something to keep her going all that time. Something to fight for. If that something is her family and we take that from her, she's either going to keep fighting or suffer a complete mental breakdown!"

"But she seemed to handle both our existence and her own mutation about as well as April did." Leo objected.

"If ya switch fainting a couple of times with a panic attack." Raph muttered.

Master Splinter shook his head. "Miss O' Neil came to terms with our existence shortly after we first met. Miss Gelding only appears to have done so. Her calm demeanor is little more than a convenient mask she wears to protect herself."

Samantha followed the excitable turtle around his home, the 'lair'. He happily pointed out different points of interest while Sam took note of anything that might be useful.

She wasn't stupid. From the mutants' reaction to her wanting to go home it was clear they intended to keep her here. If they wanted to talk with her out of the room then she was perfectly fine with that, but if they thought anything was going to keep her from going home they had a lot more to learn about Sam.

"These big door thingies lead to the elevator! Look! Motion sensors!" He stepped closer to the doors and they opened. He offered her a ride and she declined. The idea made her skin prickly with a pending cold sweat. Mikey shrugged and continued the tour. It was probably a good idea to stay and rest for a little while, hopefully she'd find another way out. She could already feel exhaustion creeping up on her, but as soon as she was feeling better, Sam was as good as gone.

"And this is our guest bedroom, currently being occupied by our guest; the lovely Samantha Gelding!" Mikey finished. By now Master Splinter and his bros had moved their conversation elsewhere so that Sam could have the room to herself. "Now that we have reached the closing portion of the tour please feel free to let the staff know if there is anything you need!"

Sam had to smile at this guy, she was sure that even Travis on a sugar high couldn't keep up with Mikey. "Thanks, but I think I have everything I need."

"Of course, m' lady, but should you need anything at all just call me… unless it's _really_ late, then you should call Raphie. He might not get you anything but it should be entertaining!"

Again, Sam had to smile. She gave her head a shake, "Thanks." As the turtle jogged off to his own room (which he had shown her every hidden corner of) Sam stepped into the guest room. Tiredly she ran her fingers through her tangled hair. She crawled into bed, privately swearing to hack the entire filthy mop off the first chance she got before falling into an exhausted sleep.


	7. Sunlight

I do not own the TMNT.

* * *

Chapter Seven: Sunlight

* * *

Cold air drifted over Sam's skin and light met her eyes even though she lay on her stomach. Panic and pain boiled in her throat as she jolted to an upright position.

Stone walls, not white walls. The lair may not be her home, but at least it wasn't the lab.

Looking around the small room, Sam noticed a basket on the dresser. Curious, she took a closer look. There was a note.

 _The staff here at Turtle Lair would like to present you with this complimentary gift basket._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Michelangelo_

 _Nobody else, just Mikey._

Sam smiled and looked in the basket. Towels, soap, a brush and comb, even some pretty-smelling shampoo. Staples she'd been without for so long were now amazing luxuries. Sam almost started to cry before she heard a small clearing of throat from her door.

Mikey, Donatello, and Leonardo stood in the doorway. Pleasure at a job well done shown bright from Mikey. Behind him, Leonardo kept one hand on the excited turtle like an owner keeping a leash on their puppy.

"Good morning." Donatello greeted Sam.

Sam nodded her eyes still damp. "Good morning. And, and thank you!" She gestured towards the small basket.

Mikey smiled. "No problem! I just thought you might need some things and Casey won't miss the shampoo." Sam didn't know who Casey was, but was grateful to her nonetheless.

The throat cleared a second time, it was Donatello. "If it's not a bad time, I'd like to change your bandage." He held up a white box with a red cross painted on it.

"It's not a bad time." Sam assured him.

As Donatello came in, Leonardo spoke, "Okay Mikey, you saw her reaction. Now I believe we have some training to do." Mikey groaned, but left with his brother.

Sam followed Donatello's gesture and sat on the bed. Donatello knelt in front of the bed and began removing the bandage on her leg with a professional attitude that told Sam he did this sort of thing a lot, but he remained gentle. "So, um…" Sam tried to think of something to say. "Looks like you paid more attention in first-aid than I did."

Donatello smiled. "Yeah, you could say that." He finished removing the cotton wrap and carefully began peeling away the gauze pads, "Let me know if anything hurts." Sam bit her lip, refusing to say anything when the gauze tugged on tender spots or snagged on a stitch. Bandages gone, she was surprised to see how much damage there was. There were three long, deep cuts that somebody, presumably Donatello, had sewn together and there were several others that looked almost nasty enough to get sewn up. She wondered why it didn't hurt more.

"Okay. Now I warn you, this stuff stings." Donatello opened the box and pulled out a bottle and some more gauze pads. He tilted the bottle onto a gauze pad and started dabbing at the cuts. It fizzed loudly but only stung a little.

"Hydrogen peroxide." Sam noted.

Donatello nodded, focused on his work. "Yeah, some medical experts prefer not to use it because it's been shown to slow tissue regeneration." He carefully poured a little more onto the gauze, "But the benefits of its mechanical action and infection control vastly outweigh what little deficits it does have."

"Not to mention the price is right." Sam added.

Donatello looked up, "The price is right?" He asked.

Sam blushed, "Yeah, one of the girls in my social finances class did a presentation on different products that were made so popular because they're cheap. Hydrogen peroxide was one of her examples."

"You're into finance." Donatello noted. "Enjoy the subject?"

"Yes." Sam nodded, "Someday I want to open a financial advisory office and start getting involved in all sorts of uprising industries. Who knows? I might get as good at it as Oroku Saki!"

At the pure hero worship in Sam's voice toward Oroku Saki, Donatello choked and accidentally spilled some of the disinfectant directly onto Sam's leg. She hissed as the fizzing seemed to cut right down to the bone. "Oops! Sorry!" He dabbed at the spill. "So sorry!

"It's no problem, really." Sam assured him, "Just caught me by surprise." Donnie nodded, embarrassed.

There were several minutes of silence until Donnie pulled out a tube and gently applied a cream to her wounds. "This should keep everything soft and moist to help the healing process." He explained, "If all goes well there should be minimal scarring.

When he'd finished rebandaging her leg, Donnie cleared his throat. "Well, uh. I should probably look at your, uh…" He coughed, awkward. "Would it be alright if I checked your, uh, shell?"

Sam blinked. "My what?"

"Your, uh, shell?" Donnie repeated, pointing at his own. He didn't want to upset her, but he needed to make sure it was still healthy.

"Yeah, sure." Sam casually turned around. Donnie was surprised, but quickly examined her carapace. It was noticeably darker than when she'd first been brought to the lair. He ran his hand over the shell and noted that it was harder and the pattern was clearer than when Master Splinter and Leo had brought her to the lair.

Sam flinched and Don jerked his hand back. "Sorry!" He apologized compulsively.

"No problem, it's just… I didn't think anything could be felt through that."

Don smiled, "Some vibrations and warmth are transferred through." He explained. Sam nodded. Donnie continued his examination of her shell, quietly surprised over how well she was taking this, he'd expected that she wouldn't want to acknowledge the shell at all.

Samantha faced the wall and tried to ignore the strange way it felt. She didn't really understand the need to keep the shell healthy. It was only a matter of time before she could get to the hospital and the doctors would cut the thing off. There was no doubt in her mind that the doctors would be able to fix what was wrong with her. Take off the shell, fix her skin color, all of it. The doctors would fix this and Sam would be back to normal in no time.

She just had to be.

* * *

Dr. Baxter Stockman rubbed his hand unconsciously. The missing fingers sometimes gave off phantom pains that rivaled the pain from the stubs; but that was a minor concern.

More important was the fact that the elevator was fixed and the tower's resources were being put into other matters. For now, no one was paying attention to Baxter Stockman; meaning he could begin searching for his little run-away experiment.

The time, effort, and chemicals he'd poured into that girl had cost tens of thousands. To place a kind of insurance into his investment, Stockman implanted a tracking device into the girl. Now that the fervor over the destroyed elevator had died down, it was finally safe to begin tracking the signal given off by the implant.

The signal wasn't very exact, the girl had wandered into the tunnels after all, but the signal would grow stronger as any devices attuned to the signal drew near.

* * *

"Ninety-nine, one-hundred." Sam had indulged herself by taking a hot shower and now that her hair was dry she carefully brushed it out. Although it had been difficult to shower and keep the fresh bandage on her leg dry, feeling clean again was so wonderful and worth the extra effort. Her skin no longer stank of sweat and filth, and her hair was once again fluffy and sleek, smelling softly of lavender and lilies.

Sam ran her fingers through her hair and considered what to do next. She replaced the brush in the basket Mikey had given her, then returned to the bed and started to sit. Her leg brushed against something and Sam jumped up before it broke or hurt her. It was a screwdriver, and very well used. Donatello had several tools shoved in that belt of his; this one must have fallen out while he was checking on Sam. She picked it up and went to return the screwdriver to its rightful owner.

As Sam approached Donatello's and Leonardo's room she heard voices within. She was about to knock when Sam distinctly heard her name. Instead of alerting those inside, she leaned closer to the door.

" _Listen Donnie, I ain't the kind of guy who'd want to hurt no girl, but she's got to know!_ "

" _She'll figure it out soon enough. Raph, give her time._ "

" _How much time? Donnie, she's gettin' stronger, what happens when tellin' her 'you need to rest' doesn't work no more?_ "

Sam frowned.

" _If we tell her the truth she'll panic and leave anyway, and much sooner! We can't have her running off!_ "

" _And what do you think would eventually happen if we don't tell 'er why she really can't go home?_ "

Sam's eyes narrowed, her resolve hardening as she stepped away from the door.

She _was_ going home.

Tonight.

* * *

Master Splinter's sensitive ears twitched as they picked up the familiar rumblings from the subways somewhere overhead. Normally they wouldn't distract him, but his worry caused him to be easily drawn from his meditations.

He had spent much of the afternoon in such meditation, trying to discover a means to help their guest. Miss Samantha Gelding worried about her family. This was perfectly natural and to be expected; but she had yet to realize that her return would be impossible. With his own sons leaving every night, Master Splinter knew it would not be long before the young lady wished to leave as well.

Another problem that plagued Master Splinter, and forced the boys to leave at night, was the unusual activity of the Foot ninja in the city. They appeared to be very interested in a building in which many human families, all apparent civilians, lived. Whatever the Foot clan's plans were, Master Splinter agreed that they must be stopped.

These two problems danced around and around in Master Splinter's mind. How to help a girl who could not accept that her life had changed drastically? And what might the Foot clan be planning that would drive them to break into families' homes?

Master Splinter shook his head and stood. He sighed as he lifted his walking stick and moved to the kitchen. Two such problems of this complexity would require more tea.

* * *

The lair was silent as Sam slipped out of her room. The lights were dimmed to represent night, but Sam's sleep cycle was still upset by the lab's constant light so she wasn't tired. The turtles had all left only minutes ago and when they returned Sam planned to be long gone.

Her eyes traced the different landmarks in the lair: the bridge over the little pool, the monitoring area with its insane number of televisions, the kitchen, the dojo where the turtles trained, and finally the main doors.

At first, she had been tempted to risk the elevator, but the idea of stepping in there alone made her ill. Her other option had been to return to the sewers and try to find her way back to the surface following them. This plan hadn't seemed like such a good idea until she heard the subway rumbling overhead. If the subway could be heard through the stone walls then, surely, she could find her way to the surface.

She crept over to the main door and examined it until she found a lever. Sam pulled the lever and the huge door slowly lifted. A smirk tugged at Sam's lips, levers were proving lucky for escapes. Without looking back, Sam jogged out into the sewer tunnels.

These tunnels didn't stink as badly as the ones Sam had been in after escaping Stockman's lab. The air was fresher, the water and walls were warmer too. There was no doubt in Samantha's mind that she was close to the surface and would get closer with every ladder she climbed. There were lights here, too, so she wasn't stumbling around in the dark.

It wasn't a short journey. She jogged until she was tired, then walked for a very long time until she found the first ladder. Hours passed before she climbed another ladder and found herself in a tunnel that gave her hope. This tunnel didn't have any water running down the middle, but there were pipes overhead that hissed and creaked. The walls were cool, but not cold and the humidity was lower than it was in most of the tunnels. Sam figured it was probably more of a utility tunnel than a sewer tunnel. Those had to be close to the surface for easy access.

Sam turned another corner and froze. There were footsteps ahead of her. She looked around for a hiding spot. Seeing only the pipes overhead Sam jumped up and caught hold of one of the larger pipes. She pulled herself up with only a little trouble when her midsection refused to bend the way it used to. Luckily, she hadn't lost too much strength.

Hidden on top of the pipes, Sam waited and watched. The footsteps were loud, like the person was heavy. A large shadow came into sight and Sam swallowed hard, hoping the owner wasn't really that big.

He wasn't. He was bigger. A huge creature walked past Sam's hiding place without looking up. For an insane moment Sam wondered whether it was an alligator or a crocodile, then a saner part of her mind screamed that it didn't matter! Alligator or crocodile it was walking on its hind feet! And it was huge! Huge didn't describe this thing it was gigantic!

And it was humming?

Up on her perch Sam felt like she had just about reached her limit for strangeness. Turtles, rats, alli- no crocs… whatever! -did not walk on their hind legs. They did not get to be this huge and they did not _hum_!

After the creature was out of sight Sam groaned and thumped her head against one of the pipes she rested on. Another solid thump on the pipes and Sam slid her legs down. She lowered herself until she was hanging by her hands and then dropped the short distance to the floor. She had to get out of this strangeness and back to the real world.

One last glance over her shoulder where the creature had gone and Sam was on her way again.

At an intersection of tunnels Sam paused and looked down all three options, left, right or straight ahead? She looked up and saw that most of the pipes went right so she followed them. Several yards ahead she found another ladder leading up and took it.

This new tunnel was warmer than any of the tunnels Sam had been in before. Excitement coursed through her veins and she started walking rapidly down the tunnel, then her walk turned to a jog and finally she was full out running. She slowed down to a hurried walk when she finally saw what she had been looking for all along, a ladder to the surface. Dust motes and floated in the rays of sun shining through the holes in the sewer lid. It was beautiful! Sam hurried to the ladder and grabbed the first rung.

She froze, her smile slowly slipped into a frown. One sunbeam fell across the skin of Sam's hand, making the green practically glow. She lifted her hand a little and the light highlighted her nails as they faded from their normal clear-ish white at the tips to the darker browny-green near her equally green cuticles. Lowering her arm made the sunbeam trace its way back over her hand, past her wrist and up her forearm where the coloring was darker.

Samantha had known in a way that her skin had changed. She had also been aware of the green, but there was something about the sunlight that made the whole thing more… _real_. In the lab, she had been scared; convinced it was something in her liver or her immune system. But the sunlight on her skin… It didn't even look like skin. There was something strangely opaque to it; she couldn't see the healthy pink from blood in her tissues, no veins in her wrist. It was skin, but it wasn't human skin… and it was Sam's skin. And if Sam's skin wasn't human, then Samantha…

That foggy panicky feeling was coming back. Sam grabbed the ladder and used it to lower herself to the floor. She felt the resistance to movement in her middle again, the shell. The shell covered her entire back and most of her front and it was _part_ of her, it was her! Looking down, straight down, she could see where her skin almost melted into the bone covering her chest. She closed her eyes and tried not to let the panic take over again, but the alternative was painful chest wracking sobs. Sam fought both reactions but felt like she was losing both battles.

"Miss Gelding?" A furry hand was placed on Sam's shoulder. "Miss Gelding?" Another hand carefully pried hers free of the metal ladder. Sam looked at the hand and followed it to the face of its owner. Master Splinter's expression was gentle and understanding.

"I…" When Sam opened her mouth to speak she tasted hot salt water, her own tears. "I… I'm sorry." She tried to cover her face with her hands but he restrained her.

"You have nothing to apologize for." Master Splinter gently pulled Sam closer to him and wrapped her in a warm, fatherly embrace. He gently rubbed the back of her head as she cried.


	8. Mousers

I do not own the TMNT

* * *

Chapter Eight: Mousers

* * *

Travis stood in the corner of the playground trying to look inconspicuous. He failed.

"You're Travis Gelding, aren't you?" Travis narrowed his eyes as he turned to the bigger kid.

"Yeah, so?" He asked. His attempt to look tough and threatening melted into fear as soon as he saw the boy in front of him. The kid had to be twice Travis's size! More than that!

"My cousin goes to St. Christopher's. You know him, his name is Dominick." The kid said.

Travis swallowed. The week before he had sent Dominick to the hospital with a broken nose, this had resulted in his expulsion from St. Christopher's. The kid who stood in front of him now was even bigger than Dominick and there was just something about him that just looked mean. "Really?" Travis asked. His voice shook at the thought of this big kid taking revenge for his cousin.

"Kid, you're going to see that public school is a lot tougher than private school; especially catholic school."

The boy's words made Travis's knees shake. Any minute this kid was going to hit him, and he had never fought unless somebody started telling dirty lies about Sam and made him mad. This kid didn't make him feel mad, this kid made him feel squishable. "Really?" Travis repeated, his voice cracked.

"Uh-huh. Kids at this school have even been caught bringing weapons to school." The boy nodded grimly. That was it. Travis was going to die. He was going to die today and he hadn't even gone to confession for the fight with Dominick yet!

The kid reached out a hand. "I'm Zack. Most guys don't mess with me, and since you sent Dominick to the hospital I'd like to help you out."

"Really?!" Light at the end of the tunnel, huzzah!

"Yep, so I'll make you a deal, you help me to pass math this year, and I'll be your bodyguard okay?" The kid was smiling, like the idea of him being a body guard was funny or something.

"Sounds, sounds good!" Travis grinned. He took Zack's hand and they shook on it.

"So, do you like video games?" Zack asked hopefully. Travis grinned; now he could tell that this was the beginning of a great friendship.

* * *

Master Splinter looked up towards the sewer lid. From time to time the light was obstructed by humans passing over their location. If anyone decided to lift the sewer lid it would be difficult to get Samantha into a hiding place before they were seen.

The girl had fallen asleep as she cried. She now rested peacefully with her head in his lap. While he knew that this rest was helping her to heal, both physically and mentally, he also knew that they had risked discovery for far too long, already.

"Miss Gelding? Miss Samantha?" He whispered, gently shaking her shoulder. She made a small noise in her throat but didn't stir. "Samantha!" He whispered a little louder.

"…n…mom…n, school…tired." Master Splinter smiled.

"Miss Gelding, we must be going." He shook her shoulder a little harder and she opened her eyes.

Sam quickly sat up so that her head was no longer on his lap. "M' sorry." She mumbled again.

"It is quite all right. I fear we must be returning to the lair, my sons will be most worried about us." Sam nodded and rubbed her face, which felt crusty from all the crying she had done. The two of them stood and Sam cast one last glance back at the manhole before they began walking down the tunnels.

They remained silent as they walked, moving down ladders without a word with both absorbed in their thoughts. Master Splinter had decided to try some words of comfort when something caused his ears to stiffen. Sam felt Master Splinter's hand on her shoulder and stopped. She turned to see him staring down the tunnels with his eyes narrowed and his ears alert. After a moment he spoke. "We must go in the other direction." His tone allowed for no argument as they turned and hurried in the opposite direction.

It wasn't long before Sam heard something that chilled her through more than the dank sewers ever could. Clanking, rhythmic and following the two of them. She glanced nervously at Master Splinter only to see that he was looking at her with worry in his eyes. "I can run if you can." She said. He nodded and they picked up their pace until they were both running.

The clanking fell behind them as they ran through the tunnels. Just when Sam thought they were going to get away the tunnel suddenly ended. There had been a collapse of the roof some time ago and the fallen dirt and debris had filled the entire tunnel, blocking their route.

"Uh, how often do these tunnels collapse?" Sam asked, she had a vivid image of New York City crumbling into the tunnels.

"Too often." Master Splinter replied gravely. He gently pushed Sam forward. "Quickly, you must climb up and see if there is a way through!"

Sam nodded and started climbing just as the clanking became audible to her again. Sam could feel her heart pounding as she crawled up the pile of debris. Once she neared the top she could see plainly that there was no going further. The debris completely blocked their path and there would be no digging out.

She slid down to where Master Splinter was. "There's no way through!"

"Please Miss Gelding, climb back up and do not come down unless I tell you to." He lifted his walking stick and prepared to fight.

"But,-"

"Now! Quickly!" Sam nodded and obediently crawled back up the pile. Looking down the tunnel she could make out movement in the dim light that soon solidified into those horrible little robots. Five of the little monsters ran towards them.

Sam reflexively gripped the dirt and found a sizable chunk of brick. As the first robot came within reach of Master Splinter he swung his walking stick and knocked the thing back into one of its counterparts. Neither was disabled. As Master Splinter fought with his walking stick, his hands, and even his tail Sam started to throw bricks at the little mechanical demons. She missed often, but she hit enough to at least slow them down a little. But as hard as they tried the things just wouldn't die!

"Miss Gelding!" Master Splinter called. "Come down to my right side! When I tell you to, you must run!" Sam slid down next to the old rat as he began systematically throwing or knocking the robots to his left. "Now! Run!" Sam did as she was told, sprinting past the robots as fast as she could. Master Splinter followed.

They ran fast enough to outpace the robots but Sam was beginning to tire. They reached a branch in the tunnels. Master Splinter urgently instructed that she go left. Sam nodded and started running again. She didn't notice that he didn't follow her. Instead he waited for the little monsters to catch up with him. He began leading the robots into the tunnel on the right, away from where Samantha had gone. At first it worked, but then they began to peel off, one-by-one they turned and raced after Sam. When the third robot turned, Master Splinter leaped and rammed his walking stick completely through the head portion. He chased after the other two while the final two chased him.

Ahead, Master Splinter heard a scream that was suddenly cut off.

* * *

Sam bit her lip and swallowed the rest of the scream in her throat. The tunnel ended suddenly after leading into a large shaft. Sprinting around a bend in the tunnel she'd seen the ledge at the last second and only had time to grab the edge as she fell. Risking a look down Sam saw an abandoned maintenance center some thirty or forty feet below her.

Reaching out with her feet was useless; the tunnel extended into the shaft a couple of feet before it came to an end. She reached out with one arm and tried to find a hand-hold, but the floor of the tunnel was smooth. Bracing her hands on the ledge she managed to pull herself up until the first row of plates on her chest slid over the stone and the indent between the first and second row caught on the edge. When she tried to pull herself up further the plates slid and she fell back down, banging her chin on the stone as her arms held her up.

"This isn't fair." Sam groaned. In reply she heard the clanking of robots coming down the tunnel. After the first one came into sight it gave its strange roar, growl noise and ran at her. Without thinking Sam pushed against the tunnel floor and lost her hold, dropping a short distance before her hands caught the ledge. The robot made its weird call again but this time the sound was distorted and faded as it fell. When Sam opened her eyes and looked down she saw the robot on the floor below her, inert and hopefully dead.

Sam swallowed and looked back up. Another one of the little monsters looked down at her, tilting its head to the side and issuing its strange cry like a puppy trying to figure something out. It reached down and bit into the concrete ledge sending chunks and chalk showering down on Sam. She coughed and felt her grip start to slip.

Suddenly, this robot too flew out into the open space. Master Splinter reached down and helped Sam back up onto the ledge. "Are you unhurt, Miss Gelding?" He asked. Sam nodded; she didn't trust herself to speak just yet.

More clanking as the last two robots came around the bend in the tunnel. Master Splinter lifted his walking stick again and as the two mechanical menaces came closer he flipped one over his head and bounced the other off the tunnel wall, sending both plummeting towards the floor where their brothers lay motionless.

When Master Splinter helped Sam to her feet she felt a sharp pain in her foot and sat back down. Looking closer she saw a sharp chip of stone impaled on her foot. It was made more bothersome because the injured foot was on her good leg. Master Splinter knelt next to Sam and examined the injury himself. After a moment he nodded to himself and reached into his robe. From an unseen pocket he withdrew a small roll of gauze. He looked up at Sam. "This sliver must be removed." He stated with absolute certainty. "My apologies but it will be quite painful."

Sam nodded. Master Splinter held her foot in one hand and prepared to remove the object with the other. He looked up at Sam and when she nodded that she was ready, he pulled the sliver out, quickly stemming the bleeding with the gauze. Air hissed through Sam's teeth and her eyes watered as the sensation of pins and needles ran up her leg.

After wrapping her foot with the gauze, Master Splinter tied it off and again helped Sam to her feet. As her weight came to rest on the injured foot Sam grimaced. Master Splinter handed Sam his walking stick and with a twinkle in his eye he informed her, "I do not require this myself just yet." He placed one hand on Sam's arm to help steady her as they moved away from the shaft.

"Samantha."

Master Splinter's ears twitched and he glanced over at Sam, who stood just a couple inches taller than he did. "Miss Gelding?" He asked curiously.

Sam smiled and shook her head. "Samantha. Miss Gelding is my aunt. Please, call me Sam or Samantha."

"Yes, of course Mi- Samantha." Sam smiled as they continued through the tunnels.

It was a huge disappointment to her that she was not going home. It might crush her if she thought about it too much right now. Something in her gut told her that there were many nights coming where she would simply have to cry herself to sleep. But she couldn't think about that now. Right now, she was too worried about the little robots that had just tried to eat her… _again._ Yet another worry was the collapsed tunnel. Master Splinter had said that the collapses occurred 'too often' and that meant more than once. That, plus the robots, plus getting hurt for running around barefoot made Sam very dubious about her odds of survival down here.

For a moment one small part of her mind danced with the temptation to turn around, go up that ladder, head home. She batted that thought aside and kept walking, or rather, limping.

They came to a t-intersection in the tunnels. Sam waited for Master Splinter to tell or show her which way to go. Instead he requested the use of his walking stick.

Balancing on her good foot, she handed him the walking stick. He reached up with the stick and used it to pry a pipe loose from the wall just out of his reach. This revealed a small LED screen and he entered in a code using his walking stick. The pipes and the wall shifted. Sam was startled to discover that this was the other side of the door she had 'escaped' through earlier.

Master Splinter returned the walking stick to Sam and they stepped through the opening. They were immediately accosted by four worried mutants.

"Master Splinter! Where were you?!"

"Are you two alright?"

"That bandage wasn't there last night."

"What happened?!"

Sam flushed. She had foolishly gone out on a stupid delusion and Master Splinter had followed her and kept her from getting killed. That's what happened.

"My sons, please. We were out, taking a walk." Master Splinter told them. "M- Samantha requires exercise to heal properly." He looked pointedly at Donatello who nodded. "As we were walking through the tunnels we were attacked by mousers."

The turtles reacted with shock. Sam blinked. "Mousers? That's what those things are called?" She asked. Had he just lied for her?

"What are mousers doing in the sewers?" Leonardo looked to Donnie for advice.

"Uh, maybe they're leftovers?" Mikey suggested hopefully.

"Doubtful. All of Stockman's mousers self-destructed when we blew his lab." Donnie explained. "More likely these are a newer model." He considered, his brow furrowed again. "Sam…" He asked hesitantly. "Were these the same robots you said came after you in the lab?" Sam nodded. Donnie's expression softened to sympathy and he was about to say something when the sharp sound of metal on stone caught everyone's attention.

Raphael had thrown one of his sais into a wall. "That Stockman…" He growled. With a glance at his father Raphael's voice lowered but he continued to say something under his breath. Sam was kind of glad she didn't hear what it was.

"If there are mousers in the sewers then that means the tunnels could be unstable." Leonardo drew the attention away from Sam. She was grateful, the way everyone had been looking at her made her feel like a lost child.

"Right." Donnie agreed. "I'll hook up the seismic surveillance devices I set up last time the mousers were on the loose and keep an eye out for any reports going through city hall via the internet to warn us of any repair crews coming through. We'll all have to stay alert... relax again."

Sam blinked, that last sentence hadn't made any sense to her, whatsoever. She felt a warm hand on her shoulder and looked over at Mikey. "Somebody's tired." He said. "You should go to bed."

"Yeah, you're probably right" Sam nodded.

"Of course I am. Come on sleepy head." He put both hands on her shoulders and steered her over to her room.

Donnie looked up from his plans with Leo, feeling guilty for not noticing that Sam was pretty much dead on her feet. "Hold up Mikey! I need to check her injury first!"

"I should probably get started on those plans." Leo said. He moved off towards Donnie's lab to start working. Raphael continued to grumble under his breath until he felt a sharp smack on the back of his head.

"Raphael, what have I told you about treating your weapons in such a manner?"

* * *

Karai sat behind her desk. Her work was not so much focused on the inter-workings of the building but on matters of business. Buying, trading, mergers; they were all necessary parts of the wealth Oroku Saki had accumulated. Although he rarely admitted it, Karai's adoptive father held a quiet fondness for the risk involved in honest business; even if he didn't always stick to the honesty portion of honest business. Oroku Saki insisted that Karai learn to handle herself in this financial world and often delegated important tasks to her for the soul purpose of keeping her sharp.

Though that was the work spread out on her desk her mind was not on it. Instead her train of thought focused on a small memory device hanging from a strap around her neck. The flash-drive held a great deal of information on Stockman's escaped experiment. Her father did not know about it and she had no intention of telling him, although for what reason she wasn't entirely sure.

Karai kept this information with her at all times. She was not sure what to do with it, but she could not let it rest.


	9. No Place Like Home

I do not own the TMNT

* * *

Chapter Nine: No Place Like Home

* * *

"Good afternoon Travis. How was school today?" Mrs. McFarthing asked, her soft brogue hardly perceptible. She stood in the doorway of her own apartment, as watchful of the boy when he arrived home now as she was before his sister had vanished.

"It was fine." Travis replied.

"I should hope so." The woman smiled. "Your mother wanted you to know that she'll be home early tonight, so don't try watching anything on television you ought not!" The old woman winked at Travis who grinned broadly, his eyes sparkling.

"Great, now what am I supposed to do?" He joked.

"How about that homework of yours?" She replied. Travis groaned dramatically before starting up the stairs. He fished in his pocket for the key his mom had given him and stuck it in the lock without checking it first. The key turned without the usual resistance, but Travis didn't notice and simply pushed through the door.

Dumping his backpack on the floor, Travis walked to his mom's stereo system. He turned off the MP3 player and skimmed through the shelf of his parents' old records. Travis grunted contentedly when he found the one he wanted and pulled it off the shelf. He slid the record free of its protective sleeve with the ease of familiarity. Before placing it on the record player, Travis gave the large disk a spin between his fingers. Once the vinyl was in place and the power button was pushed the record began to spin and the needle automatically moved into place.

Just before the music started feeding through the speakers Travis cranked the volume. The beat thudded out a familiar style of subdued anticipation. As the music played Travis bobbed his head, a pleased grin wrinkling the winter freckles on his nose as he moved to the kitchen, completely unaware of the shadow emerging from the hallway.

In the kitchen, Travis opened a cupboard and looked inside to see if his mom had picked up any good snacks recently. Nothing caught his attention so he moved to the over-stuffed fridge. Opening the door caused a bowl of leftovers to tumble out and crash to the floor. Travis picked up the bowl and shoved it back into its previous spot before leaning in closer to find the tray from last night's dinner. He tugged at the aluminum foil to make sure it was chicken while the shadow from the hall silently opened one of the kitchen drawers and removed a chef's knife.

Travis stuck a cold chicken leg in his mouth and continued his search, humming along with the music. He found bag of finger foods and straightened to take his pillage to his room. As Travis kicked the refrigerator door closed he felt something cold and sharp press against his throat. The song came to an end just as the blade sliced deep into his neck.

Blood went everywhere as Travis's body hit the floor with a careless thud. Samantha gave a shout and fought against the hands holding her down.

"Hey, calm down. Calm down. It's just a dream. Come on Sam, wake up." Sam's eyes focused on the green and blue face in front of her. "Good, wake up. It's okay." Slowly she recognized Leonardo and remembered where she was.

"Leo?" The turtle smiled encouragingly now that she was waking up. "I, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Sam sat up and pushed her hair out of her eyes.

"I was already awake." He said. Samantha was pretty sure that was a lie. "Are you okay now?"

"I'll be fine." Eventually, she would be. Just not tonight.

The blue banded turtle tipped his head. "If you want to talk about it, it could help." He offered. Sam considered.

Normally after such a dream she would go to the room next door and watch her brother sleep until she felt better. She could still go to the room next door, but she didn't think seeing Donnie sleeping there -or his empty bunk when he was working- would make her feel better. At this point talking was probably her best bet.

When she didn't say anything, Leo asked as gently as possible, "Was it Stockman's lab?"

Wouldn't that be the normal thing to have nightmares about? Maybe she'd have to deal with those later. "No. Travis." Leonardo waited for more. "Travis is my little brother. I've had a couple dreams about him over the last couple months." But it was the first one she'd had of him being killed. Sam closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head as the image of her brother's murder loomed in front of her. "I'll be fine. I think I just need to walk it off." Leonardo looked skeptical. "Really, a little exercise and I'll be fine." She kicked off the already displaced covers and stood up.

"Thanks for checking on me, Leo. I'll be okay." Sam assured him before leaving.

Leo watched as she made her way around the lair. "Sure you will." He scoffed, voice low. The position, title really, of 'eldest' had fallen to Leo for a good reason. He knew that look of deep concern haunting Sam, it often haunted him, too.

* * *

That same night, across the city, Travis had heard something at his window. It was strange to hear anything there but since there were bars over his window Travis highly doubted that anything could get to him. Still, nine-year-old boys are notorious for their curiosity.

He pulled up the blinds and was surprised to see something stuck between the metal bars. Travis slid the window open and reached for the slender silhouette. Pain lanced through the tip of his finger and he yanked back his hand and jammed the offended finger in his mouth. When he could no longer taste his blood, he pressed the finger against the cloth of his pajamas to prevent any further bleeding and reached out more cautiously with his other hand.

This time he felt something warm and metallic, like somebody had it in a pocket shortly before. With a little effort and determination, he managed to pull the metal object through the bars and brought it into his room for a better look. Turning his lamp on, Travis could see that the metal object looked kinda like a CD that had been cut to have four distinct and very sharp points; one of which now sported a drop of Travis's blood.

It looked just like something he'd see in a ninja movie.

Some people had too much time and money on their hands. Still, if they were going to be stupid and throw dangerous stuff around like that, finder's keeper's.

* * *

A few nights later, Mikey helped Sam out of the battle shell. She flinched as her injured foot hit the ground but otherwise showed no signs of discomfort from her healing injuries. The five of them moved silently to the side door of a store and slipped inside as soon as Donnie unlocked it.

As they moved through the dark building, Mikey held Sam's hand to keep her from getting hurt. They had come so that Sam could meet a friend of theirs named April. Apparently, Donnie and this April person had discussed the matter and decided that Sam needed some female companionship to help her come to terms with her situation. So tonight, while the guys went out and did whatever it was they did every night, Sam would get to have some 'female bonding time' with a woman she'd never met before. She was less than thrilled.

"Stairs." Mikey whispered. A moment later Sam's foot banged into a step. She bit her lip to avoid making any noise and adjusted her step to carry her up the stairs.

At the top of the staircase was a lit hallway. The guys visibly relaxed a little but remained silent as Leo knocked on the door. A pretty red-headed woman with a friendly smile answered. "Come on in!" She stepped back to let them by.

"Samantha, I'd like you to meet April O'Neal. April, this is Samantha." Leo politely introduced them as Sam came through the door.

"Hello there! It's nice to meet you!" April smiled warmly and held out her hand. As they shook Sam couldn't help but notice the dramatic clash between her own green skin and April's pale pinkish white. April didn't seem to mind.

Somebody's cell phone went off. All four of the guys plus April checked to see whose it was. "Mine!" Donnie announced. As he checked the phone, his eyes widened. "Guys we've got to move! They're early tonight!"

"No way!" Raph growled as he ran back through the door. Leonardo and Michelangelo followed him.

"We'll pick you up later, Sam! Uh, have fun!" Donnie called as he followed his brothers.

"Fun?" Sam asked his retreating shell. Once again Sam found herself in a strange place with a total stranger, and no idea what to do. She turned when she felt April's hand on her bare shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to bite and the guys will be back later." April said reassuringly, "How would you like some tea?" She noticed the faint look of distaste that crossed the younger girl's otherwise politely neutral expression face. "I've got hot chocolate, too."

Sam nodded, "That sounds great. Thank you." Hearing that the tone in Samantha's voice matched the politely remote expression April heaved an inward sigh; this was not going to be easy.

The turtles raced back to the battle shell. "Too slow, Donnie, I'm driving!" Raph called as Donatello ran out of the building. Donnie climbed into the back of the vehicle just as Raph tore out of the alley.

"Whoa!"

"Hey!"

"Raph! I thought you could drive!" Donnie shouted after nearly getting dumped out the back.

"Heh, I can, just hold onto your lunch!" Raph called back. From the look on Mikey's face the warning had come none too soon.

Donatello pulled a video feed up on the computer he'd rigged into the side of the battle shell. "What's up Don?" Leo called as the image of a rooftop showed on the monitor.

"Somebody set off two of the neighborhood's motion detectors I've placed. One of them activated a camera but there's nothing there now. I'm calling up the other cameras." Donnie reported. He video feed on the monitor switched to a different rooftop, then another. The forth camera showed a rooftop with just a few too many shadows. Donnie paused there for a moment and soon the shadows moved. "Confirmed Foot soldiers, Leo!" He called. "They're about two buildings away from the apartment building!"

"Floor it, Raph!" Leo barked.

Raphael grinned, "Now those orders I can take! Brace yerselves!" He called as he complied.

The battle shell careened around a corner, their target just ahead.

* * *

Baxter Stockman scowled as he reviewed the final data sent by his last wave of mousers. Four of the mousers' last known location was at an obsolete maintenance station. That didn't make much sense unless the girl had somehow managed to disable the mousers there. He'd sent a recon unit to collect the mouser remains, but hadn't been able to glean any more useful information. After nearly a week he was out of ideas concerning the information available, he needed new information.

Thus decided, he keyed in a message to one of his interns to activate another unit of mousers. No, make that three units of five, that should prove more effective.

Satisfied with the matter, for the moment, Stockman turned his attention to other matters.

* * *

The turtles piled out of the battle shell and raced for the apartment building. The Foot clan had come to this building at varying hours over the last several weeks, never at the same time but never this early. The last of the sun's light was still shining on the horizon as the four turtles hurried to intercept the enemy ninja.

Raphael reached the roof first, followed by Michelangelo. The rooftop of the building was mostly empty, save for two ninja by the rooftop access trying to bypass the additional locking mechanisms Donatello had been putting the the door. As soon as the turtles were spotted, more ninja made the leap from neighboring rooftops. Many, many more continued to join them until their numbers started approaching a hundred.

"Ya think they're getting tired of losin'?" Raph asked Mikey.

"Probably not. They keep coming back for more!" Mikey quipped as he swung his nunchucks into a spin and moved to meet his first assailant. It was true that the ninja kept coming back, but each time the Foot soldiers had become more determined and more difficult to defeat.

"Hey Raph! Do they bother to train these guys, or do they just send them over here as soon as their jammies fit?" Mikey called.

Raphael pressed forward into the crowd of ninja, aiming for the rooftop access. "Nah, they just photocopy 'em and send 'em off soon as the ink dries." A tornado kick sent several ninja back, but a sweep cost Raph his footing. He gave a loud snarl as he went down.

The sheer numbers kept the two turtles away from the rooftop access. Although Donnie's tech was good, the Foot ninja had been able to work on it every day and into the night until the turtles showed up. Tonight, they finally got through it and with Mikey and Raph still several feet away the door was opened and the Foot ninja prepared to storm the apartment building.

"Hi there." Leo greeted them from inside. He and his twin katana soon drove the hoard of ninja back.

"What took you so long?" Mikey called.

"The stairs were out of order; I had to take the elevator!" Leo called. Raph joined him and together the three guarded the entrance to the building.

* * *

Donatello slid the last of the file cabinet drawers shut unhappily.

Since these attacks had first begun, Donnie had tried to get information on the building and gain clues as to why the Foot clan was so interested but any documentation seemed to have vanished from city records. The supervisor kept hard copies of information on the tenants and the building itself in a locked file cabinet in her apartment, but the lock was easily picked and the files searched. It hadn't taken long for Donnie to skim the files but nothing had jumped out as unusual until he came to apartment 316. The file folder was filled with papers, all of which were blank. It had been well over a month since Donatello had found this ghost file, but the super hadn't noticed and fixed the problem.

But this meant that at some point the Foot ninja had gained access to the building. Being human, the Foot could probably gain access to the apartment by day, but they were still trying to infiltrate at night. Why?

Donatello puzzled over this as he closed and re-locked the file cabinet, then left the apartment and hurried to the third floor.

In the hall were three Foot ninja. One trying to pick the lock to an apartment and two standing guard. Despite Donnie reinforcing every exit he could find, some of the Foot ninja always seemed to find another way in. Donnie stepped into view. "Now you fella's wouldn't know who ordered the ninja butt-kicking would you?" The two guards ran at him. "I thought I recognized your voice from the phone." He gripped his bo and waited until the last possible moment. Just before the two ninja could hit him Donnie spun hard and fast, knocking both look-alike warriors down the stairs.

After ensuring that they wouldn't be coming back up, Donnie turned to the last remaining ninja who stood up cautiously and slid into a defensive position. Then turned tail and ran the opposite way. "When did they start teaching them that?" Donnie asked and ran after the ninja.

Once Donnie's shell vanished around a corner, the door that the ninja had been trying to unlock clicked. As the handle turned, the picks the ninja had been using fell silently onto the carpeted hallway floor.

The door opened and the hallway was filled with the sounds of the two adult Geldings' shouting.

"I'M OVERPROTECTIVE? MAYBE YOU'RE JUST NOT PROTECTIVE ENOUGH!"

"SO NOW I'M A BAD FATHER AS WELL? AT LEAST I'M WILLING TO LET HIM MAKE FRIENDS!"

"JUST BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TRAVIS SLEEPING AT A STRANGER'S HOUSE-"

The shouting was cut off as the door closed and Travis slid to the floor with a sigh. "And that's why I don't want Zach spending the night over _here_." He muttered. Travis was glad the door of the apartment was solid enough to mute out his parents' shouting because there were days when he just couldn't take it. Their new habit of arguing at top volume only made losing Sam hurt more. Every time Travis thought he was getting over it they would find something to argue about, usually coming back to Sam's disappearance.

Travis reached into the pocket of his jacket and withdrew the CD. It was a little scratched up by now because Travis had gotten into the habit of carrying it with him. He looked in to its reflective surface and stared into his brown eyes. Brown eyes that were almost exactly like another's. "Sam, please come home." He asked the eyes.

Instead of replying the eyes simply began filling with tears.

* * *

"Leo duck!" Leo ducked and a Foot ninja flew over his shell, taking down several of his comrades as he landed. Turning briefly Leo noted Donnie was just about to head back in the direction he had come from. "Donnie! They cracked the new lock." Leo announced.

"And they found another side entrance, somewhere." Donnie reported.

"Mikey! Go with Don! Keep a low profile!" Leo ordered. "Raph and I can hold things here." Mikey nodded and backed up into the rooftop access, then shut the door.

Donnie ran down the stairs as Mikey slid down the railing until they reached the third floor. They ran down a hall and turned a corner before pulling to a stop and jumping back before they were seen. "What kind of kid just sits out here like that?" Donnie muttered.

Mikey peaked around the corner. "The crying kind." He informed his brother. Donnie moved to look around the corner as well.

A young boy anywhere from seven to eleven years old sat in front of one of the apartment doors with his knees drawn up to his chest and his face buried in his arms. It was painfully obvious that the shaking of his shoulders was not from laughter. "Wonder what his problem is." Donnie mused sympathetically.

"Foot!" Mikey hissed. Two Foot soldiers were climbing the stairs at the other end of the hall and it was clear that they too saw the boy, but they didn't seem so intent on hiding from him.


	10. Interesting Happenings

I do not own the TMNT

* * *

Chapter Ten: Interesting Happenings

* * *

Travis sniffed and wiped his eyes on his sleeve and his nose on the knees of his pants. He could almost hear Sam acting all girly about how gross that was and telling him to use a tissue.

Something cut through the air above Travis's head, the sound was kind of like when he swung a ruler through the air but there was a sort of a ring to the noise. He looked up and then down either side of the hallway. It was just as empty as it had been when he had come out here, but Travis was sure he'd heard something.

He tucked the disk back into his jacket before he stood up and tried to decide which way to go; toward where the sound had come from, or to where it had gone?

* * *

"Come on kid, over here." Donnie urged.

"Come on kid, Uncle Mikey wants to say hi!" Mikey whispered. They waited anxiously to see what the kid would do.

"Don't think you're off the hook, Mikey. When Leo finds out some _kid_ heard your shuriken you'll be practicing for hours." Donnie reminded him. Mikey groaned.

The boy looked in the turtles' direction. "And now you're letting the kid hear _you_." Donnie muttered as they beat a hasty retreat.

"Hey, at least he's not heading for the Foot ninja." Mikey replied as they both hit the stairs.

"Come on, we've got work to do."

* * *

"Hold still."

Sam watched curiously as April wrapped something around her arm and tied it into place. She looked closer at the soft, cream colored material. "What's this, an arm skirt?"

April chuckled and tied another piece to the younger girl's other arm. "They were sleeves to an antique dress. A customer bought the dress but didn't want the separate sleeves."

When Sam had learned that April owned and managed her own antiques shop, Sam had rapidly warmed up to the woman while talking business. Business had eventually turned to girl talk, which gave April the idea of playing 'dress up' with Sam so the girl wasn't quite so naked. Sam seemed to be enjoying herself, but April found it odd that the girl kept her back -and shell- turned firmly toward the shop's antique, full-length mirror. Was she avoiding her reflection? How long had that been going on? She wanted to ask out of concern, but their gently budding friendship was probably still too delicate for something like that.

When April was done adjusting and fiddling she stepped back to admire her work. The sleeves fell just past the crook of her elbow and the creamy yellow color matched nicely next to the shell over Sam's chest and stomach. April thought it looked pretty good. "Thank you." Sam said. "But I'm still confused about the belt."

April chuckled, "No pants, no pockets. You can use the belt to hold stuff."

"Right. I get it." Sam didn't quite. In addition to the sleeve-skirts and plain leather belt, Sam now wore practical, sturdy leather sandals and finger-less leather gloves to protect her hands and feet. Sam looked down at her bare, green legs. Unfortunately, the shell still left a lot to be desired in the way of clothing options. At least the important stuff was basically covered. Maybe it wasn't modest, but now she felt less nude.

April watched Samantha's hair fall in front of her face when the girl looked down. She retrieved a green ribbon from a box of scraps and notions, then tied Sam's thick hair back into a simple tail. "There." April noted with satisfaction.

Sam looked up, one hand hovering over her hair. "April, thank you. I don't know how I can repay you..."

The red-head smiled, selecting a couple more ribbons. "Forget about it. I don't spend enough time with other girls, so consider us even. Now, do you want to hear more about the store?"

Receiving an enthusiastic response from Samantha, April expounded on the various details of keeping her dad's old place running. April enjoyed talking about the store to someone who appreciated the business side for a change. Normally all the guys cared about was whether the place was secure and if April knew how to protect herself from 'suspicious characters.' They were giggling over the perils of decimal points and ink blots when Samantha stiffened, her dark skin going pale.

"Sam, what is ih…" April stopped when she herself heard it; a familiar whine and clank. They both looked around, trying to find a weapon and trace where the sound was coming from when a loud crunch announced that a mouser was chewing through the front door, fast.

April grabbed Sam's hand, "Come on." The two girls hurried from the store, heading for the back door. No sooner had April opened the door than Samantha gave a screech and jumped forward, slamming the door shut again before the mousers could get inside. "Upstairs!" April ordered, pushing Sam ahead of her. April pulled out her cell phone and hit speed dial as they climbed. "Pick up, pick up…"

They made it into April's apartment. Sam closed and locked the door. "Pick up, pick up.." April chanted, "Pick- Casey! It's April! Mousers are breaking into my store!... Mousers… They're little robots that eat things… Yes those! Hurry!" April hung up and grabbed a bat that Casey had given her for emergencies. Stuffing her phone back in her pocket, she grabbed Sam's wrist and guided the girl to the window by the fire escape.

"I don't understand it." April muttered as they pushed the window open, "The mousers were never designed to leave the sewers." Sam gave April a strange look before they climbed out onto the fire escape.

"Designed? How do you know what those things were designed for?" Sam asked.

"I, that is… now's not the time, I'll explain later." April slammed the window shut just as the metal monsters could be heard outside the apartment. Sam shot her a strange look, but started down the ladder of the fire escape. Before she reached the ground, she was climbing again.

"Wrong way!" Sam shouted, hurrying back up the fire escape towards April. Now, April heard the familiar noises of the mousers below them and couldn't suppress a squeak of worry when one of them jumped into sight and bit into a rung of the ladder at Sam's waist. She helped Sam back onto the second level of the fire escape before the two quickly climbed further up, but the only place left to go was the roof. They followed the rungs up over the ledge and looked around for an alternate route of escape.

"The guys sometimes get to my place by jumping rooftop to rooftop." April suggested.

Samantha looked at the buildings surrounding the Second Time Around shop. They were all either at least an entire story taller than the building they now stood on, or across the street. "I couldn't even get onto this roof from those, much less off this one!" Sam shook her head, both denying April's vague plan and dispelling the growing feeling of being trapped.

"Then… there has got to be a solution!" April insisted, her eyes analyzing every inch of the rooftop and the buildings around them. They moved away from the edge of the building as April tried to come up with a plan. Suddenly the roof seemed to sag under Sam's feet and she jumped aside just as a hole opened in the roof and two mousers crawled out.

Samantha scrambled away from the robots as they came towards her. April ran around the hole and the mousers to get between them and Sam. She swung her bat menacingly and the mousers seemed to pause to process this possible threat. Taking advantage of their momentary hesitation April helped Sam to her feet. "Stay back." April warned the younger girl, holding out one arm protectively. Even as April swung the bat once again to knock the robots aside two more crawled through the hole and three more came over the edge of the roof from the fire escape.

As the red-head tried to ward off the mousers Sam's mind was racing. All April could do to the things was knock them aside; something like what Sam had done when the things first came after her in the lab and like what Master Splinter had done when the robots attacked them in the sewers.

No, not them, her. The robots had basically ignored the rat as they chaced after Sam, just as they had ignored April when the girls were on opposite sides of the hole in the roof only moments before. Sooner or later the girls were going to run out of roof backing away from these things and they weren't even after April. The mousers were only interested in Sam.

By the time Sam had come to this conclusion the back of her foot nudged the ledge of the roof. Sam looked down at the alley behind them -fifteen feet wasn't far, they might be able to drop down without injury- but two more mousers waited below them. One looked like it was trying to get it's feet on the wall to climb it, could they do that? April stood less than two feet in front of Samantha warding off the robots that had grown to somewhere around ten in number. With a grimace, but determined, Sam stepped up onto the ledge and slid along it until she was out from behind April. As predicted, the mousers soon stopped attacking April and turned towards Sam.

When the robots paused and started moving to April's side she blinked and looked to where they were now headed. "SAM! What are you doing?"

"Mousers, I get it now. Looks like I'm the rat." Sam hurried along the ledge, the mousers following her like greyhounds chasing the rabbit.

"Samantha!" Sam ignored April as she ran back to the fire escape and disappeared over the edge, followed closely by the mousers. April ran to that side of the roof and stared over the edge for several nerve wracking moments before she saw Sam jump off the fire escape and down into the alley below, rolling to break her fall. Two mousers followed the girl and April was forced to watch helplessly as Sam fled the alley and ran into the streets.

April reached for her cell phone and hit speed dial again. "Casey if you're stuck in traffic I'll personally castrate you!" April growled as the phone rang.

* * *

Donatello and Michelangelo rejoined Leonardo and Raphael on the roof. "There's an empty apartment on the second floor, they pried off the window bars and some of the little guys were slipping through the window. I put an extra lock on it, but we'll have some more work to do tomorrow."

"Okay, can you do something about this door, tonight?" Leo asked, blocking a vigorous attack from a ninja welding an ono.

"Can you buy me twenty minutes?"

Raph snorted. "You kidding? I'm still waiting to break a sweat."

Leo crossed his blades, catching the ono, and with a sharp movement sent the enemy ninja's weapon flying. The unarmed Foot sunk back into the crowd behind him before Leo could strike him down. "Great, then you get the next guy with an ax." Leo grumbled to Raph, his brother laughed. Unaware that the other three had been ignoring his steady stream of banter, Mikey mistook Raph's laugh and beamed.

"Okay, Don, you got twenty minutes." Leo said. Donnie nodded and stepped out of their formation. The remaining turtles adapted their formation to give Donnie room to work as he dug into his duffle back for the tools he'd need.

* * *

The leather sandals slid on loose gravel and dirt as Sam turned another corner and fled down the street. Behind her, the sounds of the mousers had faded but Sam wasn't about to slow down and let them catch up. She wasn't sure what she was going to do but she knew that she needed to do it before the stitch in her side got much worse.

Sam rounded another corner and skidded to a halt when she saw a couple embracing under a streetlamp. Upon hearing Sam's sudden stop the woman glanced over at Sam. For a moment she held her nervous, guarded expression. Then it twisted into a look that Sam wasn't likely to forget. The woman clutched at the man next to her before letting out a short scream. He looked to see what had caused his companion such distress and gasped at what he saw. He pulled the woman behind him and reached for something in his pocket.

All this took place in the time span of a breath before Sam could backtrack and run in a different direction. She sprinted down the street and into an alley where she ducked behind a noxious smelling dumpster. Her breath came in short, painful gasps that tore at the sore muscles in Sam's chest and side. The shell felt as if it were trying to squeeze the air out of her. As hard as it was to catch her breath from all the running she had just done her body's effort to begin sobbing weren't making things any easier.

Sam choked and coughed before she managed to gasp " _stupid_!" Samantha tore off one of the gloves April had given her and ground the palm of that hand into her eyes. The ghost image of the two humans' reactions to her appearance loomed in front of her.

Shock, horror, fear… _revulsion_.

Samantha had _disgusted_ them. Like some slimy creature that had crawled out of the deepest, dirtiest tunnels of the sewers and dared to walk _their_ streets.

And it was true. Sam had spent at least a week _living_ in tunnels designed to carry these peoples' refuse away from them. She was covered in sweat and she was a mutant freak _thing._

"S-stupid." Sam gasped with a little less venom this time. The tightness in her throat and the emotional weight in her gut didn't ease even as her breathing started to slow. She was tired both physically and mentally. Right now, she just wanted to crawl under a heavy blanket and forget everything for a few hours.

Another scream echoed down the street and into the alley. Sam's eyes shot open and she stiffened. Soon her ears were met with the mechanical squeaks and whines of the robots that had chased her out here in the first place. She looked around for a route of escape but realized that she had trapped herself in a dead-end alley without even a fire escape. Sam scrunched hopelessly back into the corner between the wall and the dumpster. The mousers came closer and Sam curled up tighter; whispering a silent Hail Mary. The first one came around the dumpster's corner, almost peaking at her before it stepped out further, screeched, and leaped at her. With a screech of her own Sam flung an arm out and barely clipped the thing, knocking it off course so that it clanked into the dumpster beside her. Samantha scooted away before it could right itself and crawled back from the mouser as fast as she could.

This only led her further into the alley and in view of several more of the little robots. Faced with these evil monsters and without any way to defend herself Sam held up her arms so they covered her eyes and waited for the tearing to start. The mousers screeched, several at once and without looking Sam could picture them leaping at her.

"GOONGALA!"

Something crunched and Sam peeked between her arms to see a giant swinging a large baseball bat in each hand and _laughing_ as he struck the mousers. Several were already lying around the alley in various stages of damage. The man even gave the bats a stylish spin before crushing two mousers at once –one with each bat. It was beyond Sam's comprehension how he was managing this in the first place much less having _fun_ doing it.

But his victories weren't without some losses. Beside him lay a hockey stick mangled nearly beyond recognition and even as Sam watched the man was forced to drop the bats in his hands and reach into the bag on his back to withdraw a golf club. "Four!" He shouted before knocking one of the mousers clean out of the alley. The man brought the club down on another robot and the handle bent at a sharp angle without leaving a dent on the mouser. "Eh, this is why I don't love golf." He said, again reaching behind his back to grab more sporting equipment out of the golf bag on his back.

He withdrew a cricket bat from the bag and, even from behind, Sam could see him wince. Apparently, the bat was his last line of defense as the bag now appeared to be empty. One of the mousers caught the bat in its jaws and splintered the wood while the rest of the functioning robots advanced.

"Halftime?" The man asked. Two of the mousers jumped at him and he swung the bag off his shoulders, hitting both robots. He reached back and for the first time Sam saw the hockey mask that he wore before he grabbed her wrist and easily pulled her to her feet. "We gotta run!" He told her before half dragging Sam from the alley.

The man continued to pull her down the street as Sam looked back and counted at least five more mousers still chasing them … her. Almost two blocks later he pulled her into another alley where a skinny, homeless man with a dirty old army jacket was eyeing a motorcycle. The man in the mask jumped onto the bike and turned to Sam. "Get on." He ordered, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.

Without thinking about who this guy might be Sam climbed onto the motorcycle behind the man and wrapped her arms around his waist as he started the bike and sped out into the street.


	11. Have Bat: Will Swing

I do not own the TMNT or related themes and characters.

* * *

Chapter Eleven: Have Bat; Will Swing.

* * *

"I can get some more equipment here." The man explained as he pulled his motorcycle up behind a sporting goods store.

Sam slid off the back of the motorcycle as the man who had saved her life set the kick stand and killed the engine. He easily stepped free of the machine and started for the back door of the store. He glanced back at Same, probably to say something, but paused before lifting his hockey mask to get a better look. He frowned and stared intently at Sam, looking her over from head to foot. Sam felt increasingly uncomfortable. She had to force herself not to cringe self consciously when he reached for her.

"When'd you get that?" He asked, gently taking her arm in his hand. For the first time Sam noticed the blood that had smeared across her forearm and was dripping sluggishly onto the ground.

"I… It must have been when I hit that mouser." She guessed.

The man nodded, "You'd better come inside." He said. He didn't seem bothered or even interested in anything else to do with her appearance. The man turned to the back of the store and kicked the door in -shattering the door frame where the locks and handle had been secured and ripping it clean off both hinges. Sam's jaw fell and she felt her eyes were about to fall out, too. "The owner owes me a few favors." The man explained with a casual shrug as he went inside.

Hesitant, Samantha followed him. He walked through the store like he owned the place and marched right up to the check-out counter. The man reached over the counter and picked up a white box with a red cross on the lid. "Alright now, sit." He pointed to a stool and Sam obediently sat. Pulling up a slightly shorter stool, the man sat and opened the box. He picked out some gauze and a bottle, then began to clean the blood off Sam's arm.

"You must be that Samantha chick." The man said. Sam nodded as the man's ministrations revealed two cuts that still oozed fresh blood. "I'm Casey Jones, by the way. Just Casey really. I'm sure Raphie boy has told you all about me."

Raphael had not mentioned this man, not that Samantha could remember anyway; but Mikey had mentioned a Casey when he gave her that…

Sam sputtered, "Wait- you're Casey? But I thought -Mikey said…" No, Mikey hadn't said anything other than the shampoo used to belong to Casey. He had never said that Casey was a girl. "Or maybe not." Sam corrected herself, heat rising to her cheeks. She really, really hoped this green skin couldn't blush.

Casey glanced up at her with a bemused expression, completely unaware of the misunderstanding. He then shrugged and returned to bandaging Sam's arm.

Taking advantage of his focus on her arm, Sam looked the guy over. He had longish black hair and the eyes he now squinted at the bandage he was wrapping Sam's arm with were a nice, deep shade of blue. The sight of this large man sticking his tongue out between his teeth as he tried to get the bandage on just right was kind of comical.

Sam had to cover her mouth with one hand when it occurred to her to wonder if his hair smelled of the Lavender Valley Lilies shampoo. She had mostly forgotten about the reference to this Casey person when she had heard about April.

April!

"Is April okay?" She asked, remembering that April had called a 'Casey' on her cell after the mousers attacked.

"Ape's fine. Looks like all them little robot guys were only after you. They left her alone after you ran." Casey stood up and grinned down at Sam, "Although, when I get you back to the store you can expect lots of yelling for running off like that. You scared her half to death!"

Sam ducked her head, "I didn't mean to worry her."

A warm chuckle, "Nah. Don't worry 'bout it, April needs to worry. If somebody doesn't get themselves in major trouble from time ta' time she gets antsy and hasta' go shoppin'." His smile slipped and he shuddered. His reaction helped Sam feel better. Her father always acted like a war veteran when he came back from a shopping trip with her mother; clearly this man didn't enjoy the experience either.

Casey put first-aid kit back and stood to look at some of the equipment in the store. As Sam watched from her stool, Casey Jones picked out another golf bag, another hockey-stick, and some bats. He was browsing through a collection of croquet mallets with a skeptical look on his face when something shattered in the backroom of the store. Casey spun and Sam jumped to her feet.

"Not again." Sam groaned as -once again- she heard mousers closing in on her.

Casey stepped forward and gently pushed Samantha behind him with a bat while he pulled his hockey mask down over his face. "Alright ya' puny bots, let's play!" Almost as if the robots had understood him they came tearing through a wall, completely ignoring the door only a few feet to the side. The robots advanced on the two, screeching and leaping in the usual manner.

Casey easily batted aside one mouser after the next, he was just beginning to think that this round would be all too easy when he heard metal twist and give behind him, followed by the cracking of bullet-proof glass. He glanced behind him to see another mouser advancing on the turtle girl but was forced to return his attention to the mousers he was already fighting when one of them clamped down on his leg.

Trying to shake the mouser off like an annoying dog only resulted in getting his leg torn up and the two other mousers trying to attack Casey while he was distracted weren't helping the situation any.

"Up against the wall!" Sam ordered. Without any better ideas, Casey did as he was told. He moved to the side, swinging his bats and knocking away the other robots until his back was quite literally up against the wall. "Now hold still!" The girl shouted. Casey looked up and felt the blood drain from his own face when the turtle girl swung a bat at him, aiming low.

"What the-!" He grunted just before the girl's steel bat smashed into the mouser body. The damaged robot released Casey's leg as it shut down, giving Casey the upper hand once again. "Thanks!" He called to the girl who now stood with her shell to him, ready to fight.

Casey grinned and turned back tot he mousers, "Now it's a party!"

* * *

Dr. Baxter Stockman stared at the monitor.

Every last mouser he had sent out was currently stationary, some of them had stopped transmitting a signal entirely. "How is this possible?" He called up the mousers' previous locations and watched as they moved about the city.

At first it was difficult to locate exactly where they were headed, but in the evening the signal they were tracking had cleared up; meaning the girl had left the tunnels. The mousers had closed in on the stronger signal. As soon as Stockman recognized the exact location the girl had been staying at he felt understanding sink in.

"Miss O'Neil's home." Stockman mused. "Then she has to have met the turtles by now!" Stockman pounded his fist into the arm of his chair. "This is terrible!" He exclaimed, but then his eyes lit up, "No, no, this is good! If she is staying with the turtles, then I can find them by following her! Excellent! Yes!" He steepled what was left of his fingers and sat back contentedly.

* * *

April looked up from her nervous pacing to see who stood in the doorway of her apartment.

"Sam!" The red-head rushed forward and threw her arms around the mildly surprised girl. "You're okay!"

Sam blinked, not quite returning the hug. "Um… Casey's hurt." She announced.

"He'll be fine. Are you alright?" April stepped back and took a better look at Samantha. "You didn't have that bandage earlier." She lifted Sam's hand for a better look at the small, neat bandage on her forearm, then checked to make sure Sam's leg and foot were still properly bandaged.

"You haven't even looked at Casey's leg. I'm fine. He's not." Sam deadpanned.

April glanced down at Casey's leg. She did a double-take when she saw the thick, sloppy bandaging on Casey's leg had completely bled through and he that was using a croquet mallet for a cane. "Casey! Are you alright?" April ran over and took a closer look at the bandage.

"Oh yeah, nothin' a short hospital stay can't fix." Casey quipped, although there was no hiding his hope for some real feminine sympathy.

"April, what happened here!?" Sam turned at the sound of Leo's voice and froze.

All four turtles stood in the hallway, weapons drawn and stances ready. The wiring in the building was damaged, leaving most lights off and in the near darkness the turtles' irises seemed to have vanished, leaving only an eerie white behind their masks. The image was intimidating, frightening even. Even Mikey's bright orange mask seemed to hold a sense of threat. Then there were the weapons. Suddenly they weren't so much like accessories or whatever they always carried, they were _weapons_ , designed, built and trained with deadly intent. Sam started to back away from them.

"I was kiddin'." Casey tried to assure the turtles. "Nobody needs ta go to the hospital -probably- and April can tell ya about the mousers attackin' her building." Neither he nor April seemed bothered by the fact that their strange green friends had gone and turned into actual ninja warriors.

"Mousers!" The four chorused.

"I'll explain everything." April assured them, "But right now I don't think it's safe here."

Leo nodded, "Right. We should head back to the lair."

The turtles moved in silently and Sam shivered. Almost as if planned, Raph helped Casey so the man wouldn't have to use the croquet mallet and the other three surrounded Casey, April, and Sam like body guards as they moved out into the hallway and out of the building. April sensed Sam's unease and kept one hand on the girl's shoulder until they were inside the battle shell and the turtles had put their weapons away.

On the way back to the turtle's hide-out, April explained what had happened at her apartment. Casey took up his side of the story as they climbed out of the vehicle and moved to the elevator. He continued to talk as everyone but Sam walked easily through the elevator doors. Leo placed a gentle hand on her shell and guided her through.

The first time she had ridden in this elevator she had managed to do so without much more than a few words of encouragement. This time the elevator was going down and Sam found herself clinging to Leo's arm while April kept a hand on her shoulder. By the time the lift's doors opened again the tips of Leo's fingers were tingling. Instead of saying anything, Leo waited until nobody was looking to flex the muscles in his hands and regain proper feeling.

Casey finished his part of the story as everyone stepped from the elevator.

"So, what happened between your running off and Casey's playing hero-boy?" Raph asked.

Sam shrugged, "I ran. I must have taken a wrong turn and ran into that dead-end." A scream echoed in her ears and expressions of fear and disgust haunted her vision. "Nothing to tell, really."

When the turtle brothers and the humans began hashing further into the problem with the mousers, Sam excused herself and went to bed. She was so tired she expected to be asleep before her head hit the pillow, but as she lay there her mind replayed the moments she'd been away from April and Casey.

Shock.

Horror.

 _Revulsion._

Then the scream.

The same from the man.

He had reached for something. What? A phone? A gun?

Something tickled down the side of Sam's face, followed by a similar sensation on the other side.

Tapping at the doorway. Sam sat up and wiped her tears away in one motion. It was clear from the look on Master Splinter's face that she hadn't fooled him. His eyes were full of understanding as he came inside; hardly using the walking stick he carried with him. He sat on the bed beside Sam in silence for a few moments he took a breath.

"My old senses may be dimming, but they tell me you were not entirely honest about the events of tonight." He'd overheard their arrival.

Sam swallowed.

"It is my belief that a certain young lady did, in fact, have something happen to her tonight that disturbed her more than she would care to admit. Is this just the belief of an old rat?"

The silence that settled between them hung like a weight around Samantha's neck, pulling heavier and heavier until… "I was seen." She stared at her hands in her lap. One hand was bare, the glove shoved in her belt hours before and forgotten. The palm of that hand was raw. The mixing of green skin with red chaffing seemed wrong. Not wrong like bad makeup, but wrong in the manner of abomination. The sight of her own mildly damaged skin made Sam's stomach twist and recoil.

A gentle, furred hand brushed away tears that Sam had not felt escape. "A wise man once said, 'To ere is human'. Please, believe me when I say this; whoever saw you this night could not have erred more greatly than to cast judgment upon you in any light other than that of wonder at your strength and courage."

Sam just shook her head. "I'm not strong, and I have no courage."

Master Splinter put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side in a fatherly embrace. "And that," He said, "Is where you ere."

* * *

"Mr. Stockman-"

" _That's_ Doctor _Stockman_." The scientist insisted.

"I care little for your title; the answer is still in the negative."

" _What If I were to offer you_ -"

"NO! And if I catch you near my ninja, dead or alive, I will ensure your corpse lands in the incinerator as well!" Reiko snapped off the video feed. For several minutes she stared at the blank screen, seething at the mad-man's audacity. It was bad enough that Reiko had to get rid of the evidence of her master's rage, but Stockman's 'offer' of help with the bodies... unconscionable. Revolting.

"Reiko-san?" A voice asked.

"What is it?" Reiko fought to keep her pent-up emotions out of her voice.

"The rites have ended and the bodies have been prepared." The ninja reported.

Reiko nodded, "I will be there shortly." The whisper of cloth told as the young ninja bowed before leaving.

Taking but a moment to completely collect herself, Reiko turned and left the room. She took the stairs to the basement floors, her mind wandering to her master. His anger waxed hotter and hotter as the weeks went by. He'd ordered many ninja to commit seppuku for their failure at infiltrating the apartment building sooner, much less procuring the missing disk. Only in the past few days had he begun killing ninja himself in his anger. The mission was clearly one of great enough importance that the master or his daughter would go themselves, but business matters kept them away. Reiko wondered how long this business matter would take, the temporary leader was incompetent.

Once she reached her destination her eyes flitted over to the bags held respectfully by two ninja each. Reiko nodded and the thick metal door leading to an incinerator was opened. Reiko watched sadly as the first bag was thrown in, and then the second. The door of the incinerator was closed and Reiko watched through the thick, protective glass as the bodies were reduced to an unidentifiable ash in seconds. She then marked a document that several bags of shredded paper had been disposed of in such a manner, thus explaining the amount of ash.

She looked to the lower ranking ninja who stood awaiting orders. "Tell Hideo- _san,"_ she sneered the last syllable, "That if his next attempt upon the Gelding's residence is not successful the wrath of our master will not be the only anger he shall face." Reiko held the deaths of these ninja and the ones before as Hideo's responsibility. If the master did not see fit to kill him after another failed attempt, perhaps Reiko would.

One of the ninja swallowed loudly, but otherwise the Foot soldiers remained motionless. Reiko glared at them, "You will deliver my message, _exactly_ as I told you, and you will return to your daily tasks, _immediately!_ " With that last snarl the ninja scattered.

The master's temper was not the only wrath that threatened to grow hot and destructive as the incinerator's fire. The ninja must move fast, be wise and stay alert to avoid getting burned themselves.


	12. Home Front

I do not own the TMNT characters or themes.

* * *

Chapter Twelve: Home Front

* * *

"Zack! Hey Zack!" Travis ran across the play yard to where the bigger kid was reading a comic book and eating a candy bar. "They finally agreed! They said I could come over to your place tomorrow!"

Zack grinned, "That's great! My mom's really looking forward to meeting you; something about interacting with my peers." He frowned, "Does that make any sense to you?"

Travis blinked, "No, but I think I heard my parents talking about it. So, maybe it's one of those-" Travis puffed out his skinny chest and dropped his voice as far as it would go -which wasn't far, "Son, you'll understand when you're a parent."

Zack laughed, "Yeah, ever get the feeling that they say that stuff just to get you to stop asking questions?"

Travis smiled, though there was a little bit of sadness to it, "Sam called that the 'adult conspiracy'. Whenever one of us said something Mom or Dad didn't get she'd tell them,-" This time he held up a finger and lifted his voice as high as it would go -which was pretty high. "You'll understand when you're younger."

The two boys laughed.

"What's so funny?" Zack and Travis stiffened. Standing behind Travis was the biggest kid in the school, even bigger than Zack. Dylan was a sixth grader who should have been in seventh or eighth grade and would probably be in sixth grade the next year, too. He had an attitude that even the teachers were afraid of.

"Nothin'." Zack said meekly, trying to hide his comic book behind his back.

"This what's so funny?" Dylan snatched the comic and held it up. "Metal Head? What a doofus."

Zack looked distressed, like he was going to cry. Despite his big talk about being Travis's bodyguard when they first met, Travis had soon figured out that his new friend wasn't the kind to fight. Seeing Dylan tease Zack, Tyler felt something hot boil in his gut and behind his neck. It wasn't fear or normal anger. "Give it back, Dylan." Travis ordered.

"Or what? You'll hit me? Bring it on, rich kid." Dylan laughed. As he laughed he tossed the comic on the ground and snatched Zack's candy bar as well.

The next thing Dylan knew he was being tackled in the gut by a fifth-grade missile.

* * *

Donnie pushed away from the computer and frowned at Samantha. "I've run some simulations on my computer and I don't see Stockman using your body temperature to track you." Donnie said.

"Okay, so what options does that leave?" Sam asked. The two of them, plus April, sat in Donnie's lab trying to find how the mousers were tracking Sam.

"Probably an internal tracking device, but the only way to be sure would be to use a sensitive metal detector or ID chip scanner to find where it is." Donnie explained.

"I have a friend at a local animal hospital that owes me a favor." April suggested. "I'm sure she would let me borrow a pet scanner."

Donnie nodded, "That would be great." He looked at Sam and saw her rubbing the back of her neck and wincing. "What is it?"

Sam looked up. "You're saying that I might have one of those pet ID things on me?"

"Something like that." Donnie confirmed.

"Ehe." Sam said humorlessly, "I had to be unconscious when he did _that_." She remembered taking a cat to be chipped when she was little. The needle on that thing had been huge, more like a blade.

"Not necessarily." April corrected. "The technology used in pets is much less advanced than what Dr. Stockman had access to. It could have been in any of the infusions, shots, even the blood samples they took from you."

Sam gave her a strained look. "Thanks, I feel so much better now."

April cringed. "Sorry, the nerd in me took over."

"Forget it, no biggie." Sam waved it off.

"If you're sure…" April sensed there was something below Sam's currently calm exterior. Donnie looked like he wanted to ask something himself.

Sam felt their concern and suppressed the urge to physically shake off their gaze. She had too much crap in her head to explain it every time something bothered her. "So, um. If you do find that, thing, what happens next?"

Donnie gave her a look that said he was still concerned, but answered, "Hopefully, April and I can neutralize the signal externally. If that doesn't work we'll have to find some way to remove the tracking device." Sam nodded her understanding, her eyes straying back to the monitor of Donatello's computer.

The screen was switching from different cameras Donnie had set up around the city. There were several located in sewer tunnels, some posted around an old warehouse that Sam was pretty sure was their garage. There was even one camera set up with video feed showing the door to Donnie's lab. And there were rooftops, a lot of them. It was some of these rooftops which drew her attention.

While April and Donnie discussed methods of finding and potentially neutralizing the tracking device Sam continued to watch the video feed. "Um…Donnie?" Donnie looked up.

"Yes Sam?"

"Can you change the angle of those cameras remotely?"

Donnie looked at the monitor. "Yes, why?"

Instead of answering right away, Sam stood and moved closer to the computer. Donnie watched nervously as she pressed a couple buttons and sighed in relief when the only thing that happened to his precious computer was the monitor went back a few cameras. "Could you move this one? To the right, I think."

As Donnie complied April put a hand on Sam's shoulder, "What are you looking for?"

Sam shook her head, watching the monitor closely as the image slowly panned to the right. The ledge of the building came into view. Slowly the camera moved enough that some of the building across the street could be seen. A sign hung over the door and the words 'Krauts from Kraus' could be barely made out. "Stop! That's it! That's Mr. Kraus's German Grocer!"

Donnie's mind was racing as the pieces suddenly seemed to start falling into the puzzle he'd been trying to solve for months now, "You, know that place?" He asked.

"Yes! That shop is across the street from my apartment! Your camera is on my apartment." Sam looked both excited and confused.

"Uh..." Donnie didn't know what answer he wanted when he tentatively asked, "You're family's apartment number, is it 316?"

Sam started to answer in the affirmative, then froze. She didn't know why the turtles had a camera on her family's apartment building, much less how Donnie knew specifically which apartment they lived in. Suddenly, Sam didn't want to hear anything else, not one word or even a look. She'd gained a level of trust for the turtles and didn't believe they would do anything to harm her or her family, or anyone who didn't deserve it if they could help it. She also knew they left the lair nearly every night to do... something.

Donatello explained that they'd need to bring the rest of the clan up-to-speed on this and left to gather everyone into the monitoring area with its abundant, comfortable seats and televisions. April stepped closer to Sam and put a hand on the girl's shoulder. Sam flinched, but April didn't withdraw her hand. This time, Sam did shake her head to force herself to focus. "Sorry... right." She muttered, as if someone had said something. With April's urging, she went toward the monitoring area with April and took a seat on the couch while the rest of the mutants arrived.

When everyone had arrived, Donnie explained about Sam's revelation. There was a smattering of curses from Raphael an even Michelangelo that earned them hard looks from Master Splinter, but Leo just looked grim and nodded once, accepting the information and processing it. He continued to think it over as Donnie sat down and carefully brought Sam up to speed on the Foot ninja's attempts to break into the apartment by night, but typically ignore it by day. When Donnie had finished his explanations, Leo asked, "Do you have any idea what the Foot's intentions might be?"

Sam shuddered, then took a deep breath. She'd been fiddling with her hair ribbon the entire time Donnie was speaking. Now, she brushed her hair out of her face and tied it back, out of the way. She wished she could do the same with the memories that were pressing on her, making it hard to focus on the moment. "The Disk. They must still be looking for the Disk."

Raphael frowned. "What disk?" He asked, missing the glares Donnie and Leo were shooting at him.

"After the ninja… the Foot ninja," Sam corrected herself, mindful of the information she had just received, "kidnapped me, I was questioned about a disk." Sam managed to keep her voice even and her face calm, but her hands shook despite her clasping them together. April moved over and placed a comforting hand on Sam's arm. Sam noticed the woman's hands were cold. Was it the old 'cold hands, warm heart' routine or was she upset as well?

"Remember, Raph? She told us about that the day she woke up." Donnie reminded his brother.

"She did?" Mikey asked. Donnie groaned and shook his head while Leo rubbed at some growing tension between his eyes. Master Splinter, in his usual seat, mirrored Leo's gesture.

"So, where is the disk?" Raph asked. There was something about the question and his natural, rough tone that sent a shudder down Sam's spine.

"I _don't know!_ " Sam snapped. "I never saw the stupid thing and didn't know it existed until that-" She snarled, but resisted the urge to curse, "That evil woman asked me about it!" For a moment, Sam remained defiant and angry, then the moment passed and she stared at her lap as the emotions slipped away. "Sorry. I didn't mean to bite your head off."

"No prob, touchy subject. I get it." Raph assured her. Sam nodded but didn't look up. She didn't want anyone to see how close she was to crying or maybe screaming.

A three-fingered hand gently took one of Sam's own five-fingered hands. She looked up to see Leo staring at her intently with both sympathy and determination behind his blue mask. "Sam, I know this is hard for you, but we need your help. Do you remember anything the woman said about the disk? Anything she might have given away while trying to question you?"

Sam looked down at her hand in his. Part of her mind suddenly felt very much focused on the fact that her skin was just a shade or two lighter than Leonardo's. Another part of her mind, the part that had driven her so hard in school and the part that had supported her through Stockman's lab, that part of her thought of Travis. He was in danger. The evil ninja were trying to break into Sam's home.

' _We can take them the same way we took you, and we won't be as nice._ '

"They took the files for the apartment?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Why haven't they tried to grab anyone else? It was day when they…" She swallowed. "They're not afraid of broad daylight."

"Your family was on the news. People are keeping an eye out for them, there's more cops in the area." Donatello said, but it was more of a guess than a solid explanation. "I don't think the Foot are willing to risk more attention just yet."

"Yet." Sam murmured.

' _Insolent girl! Do you have any idea what is at stake here? We know where you go to school and we know where you live. We know about your family; your mother, father, brother, we know about them. We can take them the same way we took you, and we won't be as nice.'_

Her brother was in danger. Sam took a deep breath and when she looked up her eyes were hard and determined. "All I know is they were positive someone had put a black disk in my backpack. At the end of every school day, I clean all the stuff out of my bag so that nothing is forgotten. The day Mr. Saki took me home I didn't pay much attention to what I was doing, and I didn't put it back in for Monday. If it was really there, it should still be in my room, now."

Leo nodded. "Then that's where we'll start. We'll have to search your room and maybe the entire apartment."

Samantha nodded. "You'll want to go between eight in the morning and three in the afternoon, if you can. Unless someone's changed their schedule, Mom and Dad will be at work and Travis will be at school."

Leo gave her hand a short squeeze. "Thanks, Sam." He stood and nodded to his brothers. "We'll take April back to her place so she can talk to the police, then head for the apartment." By that time they were too familiar with the apartment building and it was secured with so much of Donnie's tech that they didn't need much planning about breaking into it unseen. Master Splinter nodded and the brothers prepared to leave.

"Wait!" Sam said, jumping to her feet. Leo and the others turned to look at her. Sam pointed at them threateningly. "If I hear so much as a rumor that anyone touched the second drawer on my dresser, turtle heads will roll! Believe it!" April snorted and put a hand to her mouth, embarrassed at the snort but still amused.

"Why? What's in that drawer?" Donnie asked.

"Death!" Sam promised. Although she was completely serious about wanting this one scrap of privacy, there was the faintest glimmer of amusement in her eyes… very faint.

Donnie and Mikey remained confused, but Raph sniggered and whispered to Leo. Understanding dawned on the leader's face. "We won't touch it." He swore. Leo grabbed Mikey's mask tails and half dragged him from the lair just as Mikey was beginning to figure it out for himself.

The last to leave were April and Donnie. April gave Sam a quick hug while Donnie promised to change Sam's bandages as soon as they returned.

Once they'd gone, Sam seemed to shrink within her shell, exhausted. Master Splinter stood and went to the kitchen. He returned a few minutes later with a warm cup of milk, which he insisted on watching to ensure Samantha drank. It didn't taste like regular milk -warm or otherwise- so she suspected he'd put something into it but didn't comment as she drained the cup. She was then sent off to bed again, but was so tired she didn't feel upset about it.

In the privacy of her room, Sam crawled into bed so that she could pull the covers over her head. She shivered as the memory of that woman's voice seemed to lurk just a little way from her. The skin where she'd received so many injections tingled and Samantha shivered.

But, the warm milk with Master Splinter's little addition eventually took over and Samantha drifted off into a deep, soothing, dreamless sleep.


	13. In My Room

I do not own the TMNT or related themes and characters.

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: In My Room

* * *

Travis rolled his eyes. "Mom," He called into the apartment, "You left your briefcase at the office, remember?"

"Oh. Right." Patricia Gelding hurried out of the apartment. "Then I guess I'm ready. Do you have everything you need for tonight?"

Travis patted his overstuffed backpack. "Yes, Mom."

"Clean underwear?"

"MOM!" Travis didn't even wait for an answer before he turned and headed for the stairs. Mrs. Gelding shook her head and mentally scolded herself when she realized what she had asked him. Pulling a set of keys from her pocket, she turned and locked the apartment door securely.

Inside apartment three-sixteen everything was silent.

"Dudes! They have giant CD's!"

"Those aren't CD's Mikey. They're records."

"… what?"

Donnie shook his head and stepped out from behind an armchair. "Never mind." His three brothers soon came out of hiding as well.

"Spread out and find Sam's room." Leo ordered.

"And how are we supposed to know which room is hers?" Raph asked critically.

"Easy, look for the room with her name on the door." Mikey said.

"Right Mikey and just what makes you think…" Raph's voice trailed off when he saw his brother standing in the hall holding a sign that read 'Samantha's Room: by appointment only.'

The four turtles moved to Samantha's room amid grumblings from their hot-head.

Since police investigators had picked through the room over three months ago a thin film of dust had settled over everything. Beneath the dust, the room was neat. The desk was orderly, the bed made, the books in the bottom four shelves of the bookshelf were straight and arranged by title. The top shelf was used to tastefully display a healthy collection of awards.

As soon as he saw the dresser Mikey grinned and started towards it. Leo smacked him upside the head and pointed Mikey towards the bed. "Party pooper." Mikey mumbled.

Donnie took the bookshelf, first pulling out the books and checking for disks or clues in the pages and then carefully replacing the books so as not to disturb the months of dust resting on the shelves. One of the books was titled Modern Captains of Industry. Don opened the book and nearly choked when he saw that Oroku Saki was bookmarked. The book was quickly replaced.

He then glanced curiously at the awards on the top shelf. "Impressive." Donnie noted. "Debate; first place. Monologue non-humorous; second place. Graphic Advertisement; third place. Business Management; first place. And here's Track."

"Wow." Mikey noted as he pulled some old, heavy textbooks out from under the bed, "Can you say 'over achiever'?"

"Yeah." Raph smirked, "It's pronounced 'Lee-Oh."

Leo pretended to ignore his brothers' snickers as he sifted through the dresser drawers, careful to avoid the notorious second drawer.

"Hey guys, did you notice how Sam took to Master Splinter faster than she did the rest of us?" Mikey called from under the bed.

"Yeah, so?" Raph asked. He was picking through a drawer filled with CD's. Classical, classical, country, contemporary Christian, classical… did this girl ever listen to real music? Or something that didn't start with a C, at least.

"Maybe that was because of… _this!_ " Raph stumbled back when his vision was suddenly filled with something fuzzy and brown. Once he had a few feet to focus he saw the ratty old ALF doll Mikey was holding. "See? It looks just like sensei!" Mikey exclaimed happily.

Raph smirked, "Yeah, it kinda' does."

Donnie glanced over his shoulder, "Guys, that's not nice… no matter how true it may be."

Leo's frown deepened. He refused to comment on his brothers' disrespect for their father and master… even if some small part of him agreed. Instead he closed the bottom drawer and stood to recheck the top of the dresser. There was a brush and comb, some simple toiletries and a highly polished black box with a few pieces of simple jewelry inside. Hanging just over the dresser was a vanity mirror with a blue 'Favorite Sister Award' ribbon stuck into the frame. Resting on the bottom frame of the mirror was a heavy silver locket with a picture of a brown haired, brown eyed boy smiling an easy smile.

"Hey guys, take a look at this." Donnie called. He was holding open a large hardback book.

"Donnie, we're not here to read Sam's schoolbooks, as appealing as they might be." Raph teased, but joined Mikey and Leo in looking over Don's shoulder to see what the big deal was.

It was a yearbook. The page was opened to several pictures of students, most of which were smiling. Donnie was pointing to a picture surrounded by _have a great year!_ and _call me!_ messages. The picture was labeled 'Samantha Gelding'. For a moment nobody spoke as they looked at the happy girl with familiar brown hair and eyes and an unfamiliar confident smile; a huge difference from the usually reserved and solemn turtle girl back at the lair.

"We'd better keep looking for that disk." Leo finally said. Almost reluctantly, the turtles returned to their appointed task. They finished searching the bedroom and started to file through the door to look in the other rooms of the apartment.

Before closing the door behind him Leo looked over the room once more. It told of a bright, busy young girl who loved her family and, in secret places, still cherished her childhood. A part of him was ashamed that they'd violated such a personal space; another part felt sadness that Sam may never return to this, her home. After making a quick decision Leo stepped forward and grabbed the locket off the frame of the vanity mirror. He blew on the dust to reduce the appearance of disturbance and tucked the necklace into his belt before leaving.

The door clicked closed, leaving the room unoccupied and lonely.

* * *

Sam turned off the shower and stood for a moment breathing the steam.

She used her hands to wipe the excess water off her skin and… what had the guys called that thing? Plastron. Sam tapped on the shell covering her front and thought that it felt harder now than it had a couple days ago. Rougher too, and there was a different sound to it, like bone. Donnie said that her shell was still hardening and apparently he was right.

The curtain was pushed back and Sam reached for her towel. She briskly rubbed off her skin, carefully patting her injured arm dry and brushing the towel over the plastic wrapped around the bandage on her leg. Finally, Sam wrapped the towel around her waist. Her shell, and the guys' shells, had several little nooks and crannies that impossible to towel dry, the towel collected drips as their shells dried in the air.

Sam grabbed another towel and began rubbing her hair as she left the bathroom, careful to avoid the mirror over the sink. As she stepped out of the bathroom she nearly collided with April. Both girls stumbled back just in time. April lifted a corner of the towel covering Sam's face and smiled at her friend, "Enjoy your shower?" She asked. Sam smiled back and nodded. The nap and shower had done her a lot of good. "Good." April started off in the direction she was heading before she had nearly plowed into Sam, but Sam spoke up.

"What's with the notebook?"

April glanced down at the spiral notebook on top of the pile of papers she'd brought back from the shop after speaking with the police, "Oh, these are some notes on local building contractors. I've got to find somebody to repair the damage to my shop."

"If you'd like I could offer my nerdish expertise." Sam grinned.

"Nerdish expertise?" April questioned, one of her eyebrows lifting in amused interest.

"Business nerd expertise." Sam clarified.

"And just what do business nerds do?" April crossed her arms, hugging the papers to her chest as she waited for the punchline.

"It's simple, really: we take control of the world through the economy and then pay off politicians to do our bidding."

Instead of laughing April seemed to pale somewhat, "Really…?"

Sam pulled the towel off her head, frowning. "April? You do know I was kidding, right?"

April shook herself out of her daze. "Of course you were. I'm sorry, I just sort of spaced there for a minute. Anyway, sure, I'd love any help you can offer. Let me know when you're done with your hair." She hurried off towards the kitchen.

For a minute Sam stared after her, bemused by the red-head's actions.

"Why do I keep getting the feeling they're hiding something from me?" Sam muttered. She shook her head and went to her room.

In the kitchen, April tossed the paperwork onto the counter and leaned against one of the counters.

It had been a group decision that Sam wouldn't be told too much yet about the turtle's underworld knowledge, especially concerning the girl's idol. But her joke about business nerds had made April choke. Samantha knew that the disk had been slipped into her backpack while she was in Saki's limo, but she clearly didn't suspect that Oroku Saki could be involved in anything nefarious.

April felt torn, the first time she had spoken with Sam the girl had been withdrawn, her ability to trust nearly broken, her confidence buried more securely than the windows of Notre Dame. If learning what she had about Oroku Saki had made April paranoid, what would it do to Sam? April thumped her head against a cabinet door and sighed.

"You seem troubled, Miss O' Neil." April looked to where Master Splinter had just come into the kitchen. She made a mental note to ask Sam how she managed to get the old rat to call her by her first name.

"Sam just said something that got me thinking." April said, hoping not to worry him.

Master Splinter nodded, but didn't look convinced. He continued to watch her in that patient but knowing way he had. April sighed and was about to explain her train of thought when Sam's panicked shout echoed through the lair.

* * *

Travis slouched in his chair, watching the clock as it ticked down till recess. After recess it was only an hour until school let out, then he would ride home with Zack and spend an emotionally fulfilling evening playing video games till their eyeballs dried up and all ten of their fingers fell off.

Or, at least, that's what Sam always said would happen.

"… TRAVIS!" Travis jumped in his seat as the teacher literally shouted his name.

"Uh, yes ma'am?" He said brilliantly.

The prune like old woman glared at him, making her look even more prune like. "I asked you what business persons going into the south were often called." She told him. Travis hadn't heard a word of her lesson on the Reconstruction Era and didn't have a clue what the answer might be.

" _carpet baggers_." Zack whispered helpfully from behind him.

"Carpet baggers." Travis repeated.

The woman squinted at him, "Thank you so much… _Zack._ " Several of the students giggled. "You boys may see me as some old, dried up fool, but I'm not deaf, I do catch on to things." She glared at them both before turning back to the whiteboard, revealing the 'Ignore Me' sign that had been taped to her back since lunch.

It seemed to Travis that students at this school could get away with murder. After his fight with Dylan the principal had sent them to write lines in the Special Ed room, never even bothering to call their respective parents. Imagine; writing "I will not fight." one hundred times as punishment for bloodying another kid's nose. The real kicker was that after they had turned in their papers Dylan had punched Travis in the shoulder and asked Travis to sit with him at lunch.

Public school sure was different.

"I don't suppose you know the answer to that one, do you Travis?" The teacher asked.

Travis blinked, refocusing his attention and scrambling to recall a single word of the teacher's lecture. "Scalawags?"

She blinked, "K-correct."

There was even more giggling and whispers this time as Travis sat back smugly.

The clock ticked closer to recess.

* * *

Below the surface of New York City things were a far cry from the child's play at recess.

"Ah… shell." The words were spoken halfheartedly, as if the speaker knew they fell far short of the situation.

"Mousers." Leo stated. He and his brothers drew their weapons and quietly closed in on the main entrance to the lair. Most of the entrance was intact, looking just like any other part of the sewer, but light and warmth poured out from several gaping holes in the bottom of Donnie's camouflaged doorway. Donnie reached up and pulled out one of the pipes and all four brothers stepped back, ready to fight as the door opened.

The lair was quiet. Far too quiet and far too empty. Leo signaled for his brothers to move in and start looking for clues. Raph checked the garage and armory, Don hurried to his lab while Mikey started checking on the bedrooms and Leo covered what was left. Despite the seriousness and potential dangers of the situation all the turtles found themselves fighting the urge to call for the missing. The turtles soon regrouped at the bottom of the ramp leading to the main entrance.

"The Southeast entrance is damaged, that must be where they left. Did anybody find clues as to what happened here?" Leo spoke in a clear but rapid, no nonsense manner that commanded everyone's attention and focus. It was a tone he only used when things were very serious, or when he was scared and trying to cover it.

"There were mouser tracks leading to Sam's room." Mikey reported, he sounded worried. "They didn't go in but the sewer mud wore off and there weren't any tracks after they turned away."

"There's a katana, some arrows, and one of Master Splinter's yumi missin' from the armory." Raph reported. His hands were on the handles of his sais, tightening and releasing his grip with pent up energy. "They were expectin' a fight."

"Someone searched through my lab, I don't know if they found what they were looking for or not." Donnie said.

Leo nodded. "Don, how's your security coverage of the Southeast tunnels?"

Donnie shook his head, "Not good, the feedback from my security system in that direction has been sporadic -at best- ever since the tunnel under Delmont collapsed."

"Then we'll have to start searching for them on foot." Leo decided, "The best way to do that is to get started, let's go." His brothers nodded and hurried for the southeast entrance.

* * *

"How dare you send my own ninja to threaten me!"

Reiko narrowed her eyes at the man in front of her, "I recall no threats, only promises, Hideo." Although her tone was a light neutral her use of his given name was a veiled insult.

Hideo marched forward until he was less than a foot from the kunoichi, "Do you really think you have what it takes to kill me and make good on your threats?"

He was answered with a thin smile. Hideo's wrist was painfully twisted to the side and he was forced to drop the shurike he had tried to stab Reiko with. A swift kick to his gut sent him reeling back, barely maintaining his footing. "If you question my skills I would welcome a challenge. We both know I can handle both your duties as well as my own, easily."

Hideo snarled, he flexed his wrist and another shurike came to his hand. "What makes you think you could defeat me in fair combat?"

Reiko lifted her eyebrows in amusement, resting a careless hand on her hip, "Fair combat? You? The two don't belong in the same sentence." Casually she reached up and patted the elegant twist of hair at the base of her skull.

The man only snarled again before turning on his heels and marching from the room. Reiko smiled as she tucked an elegant jade comb back where it had come from. She was careful not to scratch her skin with the sharpened tips; fugu oil in one's bloodstream was never a good idea.

Hideo san left the women's quarters growling curses under his breath against the kunoichi. Reiko was the mistress of poisons, but she was also far too skilled in combat, as were all the kunoichi and female ninja in the clan. Hideo was unquestionably loyal to the Shredder, but his habit of treating women as if they were equal to men angered Hideo.

He was so engrossed in his angry thoughts he never heard the faint thwip of a needle cutting through the air, never even noticed it until he felt a sharp pain in his neck. Out of pure reflex he slapped at the sting in his neck, only to push the needle in further, introducing more of the toxin it was covered with into his bloodstream. Already he could feel his heart beating rapidly and his breathing come with greater difficulty. In less than three minutes he would be dead.

The only one who truly ever knew who killed Hideo was the murderer himself. The motive didn't matter, Hideo was hated. His cowardice and refusal to take responsibility for his continuing failures had made him a poor leader and a very unpopular man. A very, unpopular dead man.


	14. The Game's a Foot!

I do not own the TMNT or related themes and characters

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Chapter Fourteen: The Game's a Foot!

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"Leo! Hey Leo!"

Leo ran to the branch tunnel Raph had gone down. "What is it?" He called as he drew closer, but he pulled to a stop before his brother had to answer. Mousers littered the bottom of the sewer pipe in various states of dismemberment. "Whoa."

Donnie and Mikey ran up behind Leo and Raph. "Dude." Mikey breathed, surveying the damage.

Donnie knelt to examine the mousers, "This one was disabled by Master Splinter." He said while pointing to one that looked like it had been crushed by something blunt. After examining another he announced, "April took this one out, and that one, and that one too."

"What about this one?" Leo asked, he pointed to a mouser that had a strange dent in it unlike anything the guys' weapons would cause.

Donnie bent close and examined the damage to the mouser. "It looks like… I'd say this was done by an ax." He said. That's when he realized what was missing from the lab. "An ax! Sam must have grabbed the utility ax from my lab!"

Leo nodded, "So all three of them were here."

"And kicking shell." Mikey added. He tapped one of the mousers with his foot. The mouser's jaw snapped shut and Mikey leaped back, screaming.

"So, we know we're on the right path. Let's go." Leo ordered. The turtles hurried between the ruined mousers.

It wasn't long before they came to the end of the tunnel and found themselves looking out at a shaft, the bottom of which was the location for a repair depot. "Isn't this the tunnel Master Splinter said that he and Sam had been chased by the mousers before?" Raph asked.

Leo nodded, "The question is; where did they go to from here?"

Behind him, Donnie reached into his bag and pulled out a funny looking device he held over his eyes. "Let's see…" Donnie stepped over to the edge of the pipe and looked down. He used one hand to adjust the knobs on the device and leaned out over the edge to look around, trusting his brothers to hold onto him as he leaned out over the edge. As expected, Mikey and Raph each put a hand on the lip of Donnie's shell. Unlike Donnie, they didn't trust that his leaning out wasn't due to spacing out. "Mouser tracks lead downward… then across the bottom and… there! Leo take a look at that!" Donnie stepped back and pulled off the device, shoving it over Leo's eyes. Leo adjusted Donnie's fancy binoculars and followed where his brother was pointing.

"It looks like… a rope! And it's attached to one of Master Splinter's arrows!"

"Exactly." Donnie agreed as he took the device back. "They could have climbed straight across, gaining some distance over the mousers."

Beside Donnie, Raph grunted, "Great, we know where they went but how do _we_ go there?"

The genius opened his mouth to reply but stopped when he realized he didn't have any ideas. Both of them looked over to Leo for a plan and had just registered that he was still trying to think of one when something clicked and a rope zipped past them, soared across the shaft and lodged into the stone wall on the other side just above Master Splinter's arrow.

All three brothers followed the rope back behind them and watched as Mikey tied off the second end of the rope to a gas pipe running along the ceiling of the tunnel. He looked up at them and grinned. "Mikey," Leo said, sounding stunned, "How did you do that?" Of the four of them, only Leo had studied the yumi -the Japanese bow- and he wasn't very good at it.

Michelangelo's grin grew wider and he pulled back one of his wrist guards to reveal a small black device that looked like Spiderman web shooters. "Nobody hooked Turtle Titan up with some tech and I got the rope from Donnie's bag when he wasn't looking."

Donnie looked torn between clutching at his bag of tricks protectively and feeling hurt that Mikey was getting tech from somebody other than him. "So, when did you start carrying that around?"

Before he answered Mikey stepped up to the edge of the tunnel and reached for the rope that Raph and Leo were already beginning to cross, "When did you start carrying pigeon puppets around with you?" He teased before easily pulling himself up and hurrying to catch up with the two turtles that were almost halfway across the shaft.

For a moment Donnie stood there frowning, "I could have made a grappling hook launcher." He muttered, "And it would have been designed better, too." His voice sounded bitter.

"Yo! Donnie! Move yer shell!" Raph called. Donnie grabbed the rope and followed his brothers before he fell too far behind.

Despite his bellowing, Raphael did wait on Donnie and once his brother was safely across they jogged after Mikey and Leo. They continued through the tunnels, following tracks and the odd crushed mouser until Leo finally announced, "I think I hear them." His brothers nodded, also hearing the mechanical noises ahead. They drew their weapons and picked up their already hurried pace.

Soon the turtles saw them as well. The robots lined the floor and walls of the tunnel as far as could be seen and moved like little soldiers away from the turtles, intent on their target ahead. "Okay." Donnie said. "According to what we've been told the robots are focused on getting to Sam. We should be able to pick them off from the back without any of the mousers-"

"Incoming!" Mikey shouted. He swung with his nunchucks and knocked a mouser out of its trajectory towards Donatello's head. Ahead of them in the tunnel several dozens of the robots were turning around and clearly meaning to attack the turtles.

"Or, their programming could have been modified." Donnie amended before bringing his staff up to start battling the mousers.

The turtles fell back on their old pattern for battling the mousers. Michelangelo and Donatello used their blunt weapons to knock the robots back or smash them if possible, while Raph and Leo used their blades to stab, slice, and chop the mousers into functionless bits. The plan seemed to be working as well as it ever did, they were putting mousers out of commission and moving forward, but it wasn't good enough this time.

"This isn't," Raph grunted, ramming his sais into two of the little robots, "Fast enough! We'll never get through like this!"

"I know!" Leo answered. He used his longer blades and took out four of the mousers in one double handed blow. Those six were a mere drop in the bucket compared to the mass in front of them. "We need something faster! Donnie, please tell me you have an idea."

Donnie's bow scraped along the bottom of the tunnel, sending several of the mousers back, only to have them come back for more, or head in the direction where Master Splinter and the girls were probably fleeing in.

"I have one, though it might be suicide." Donnie said.

"Talk to me Donnie." Leo encouraged, trying to stay low and slash at more of the mousers.

"Well," Donnie said, "It works with the Foot ninja!" He announced. He stepped back, then ran forward and used his staff to vault over the rear most mousers and onto the heads of robots further up. He then started running, jumping from one mouser's metallic, tooth filled head to the next.

"Follow the geek!" Raph called. He stepped back and with a short running leap copied Donnie. Leo and Mikey exchanged a quick look before nodding together and chasing after their brothers.

It was harder than pulling the same stunt with human stepping stones. Humans tended to go down after getting stepped on. Mousers acted like springs and would jump after the turtles after being run over. The turtles had to fend off these jumpers while avoiding the open maws of mousers that had turned and were ready to crunch down on their feet. Fortunately it wasn't long before they heard the familiar and welcome sounds of battle ahead of them.

"Master Splinter! We're coming!" Leo shouted.

"Hang on April!"

"Sam!"

"Cowabunga!"

Donnie arrived at the scene of the battle ahead of his brothers. Once again using his bo staff, Donnie vaulted the last few yards and came down with a crunch on a mouser that had slipped past the three's defense and was about to attack them from behind. He then turned and attacked the oncoming mousers with skill and force enough that April was able to fall back with Sam in tow. Raph, Mikey and Leo were not far behind and soon the ninja mutants were lined up, shoulder to shoulder, fighting as only a family such as theirs was capable of.

Samantha stood several yards behind the line that they had set up with her eyes wide. She had seen the guys train, but that was nothing compared to the teamwork and skill they were now displaying. There was none of the fear she'd felt when they'd shown up at April's decimated building. "Sam, come on. We have to move." April urged. Sam was barely able to tear her eyes away from the fighting so that she could follow April.

The two girls ran down the tunnel away from the mass of metal that was tracking Sam. April kept a guiding and protective grip on Sam's arm with one hand while she continued to hold her katana with the other. Sam still carried Donnie's utility ax in her free hand as she tried to keep up with April's pace.

"Ahn-" Sam clamped her mouth shut to avoid making any more noise but April had already heard it. She drew to an immediate stop and turned to Sam with concern.

Sam was exhausted. Between her injuries, her recent illness, and the heavy shell on her back she was still not able to keep up with April or Master Splinter. Her earlier nap helped, but hadn't caused any miracles. Their frequent rest stops on her behalf had been the main reason that the mousers kept catching up to them. She had considered running off alone again but she it seemed like someone always had their hand on her, probably to prevent that very course of action. "I'm… fine." Sam gasped.

"Uh-huh." April replied skeptically.

Instead of trying to answer, Sam nodded. She lifted the ax a little higher and pressed forward, ignoring April's protests. The guys were buying them some time; they needed to use that time to get as much distance between themselves and the robots as possible.

Sam moved her tongue in her mouth until she felt enough saliva to swallow. After moistening her throat Sam tried to speak again, "Donnie," Her voice was scratched and it crackled. Sam swallowed and tried again. "Donnie said that a vet chip detector thing might be able to find the tracking device, right?" Sam asked.

April nodded. "What are you thinking?" She asked, afraid she already knew.

Sam started moving faster, a determined light in her eyes that belayed the exhaustion of her other features. "We need to get topside."

* * *

"And this is my room." Zack explained. "Just drop your stuff where ever."

Travis nodded; literally dropping his backpack as he looked around the room. "Cool room." He commented. Unlike Travis's room, this one was clean and neat. It was a little like Sam's except it was clearly a boy's room and there were electronics everywhere. There were several game systems, a fancy digital clock and sitting on Zack's desk was a computer monitor.

"You have your own computer?" Travis marveled, "That is so _cool!_ "

Zack shrugged, "Don't you?"

"Hun-uh." Travis shook his head, "I asked Mom for one once, but she gave me this really long speech about money and responsibility and all. A 'no' would have worked, too."

"What is it with moms and lectures?" Zack asked as he walked through his room, pulling out video games and a few snacks that looked like they might have been hidden from his own mother. He handed Travis a stack of different games.

Travis sat on the floor and started looking through the games, "I think it's a girl thing, Sam was starting to lecture me sometimes, too."

"Yeah, probably a girl thing. No more long talks tonight though." Zack grinned, "Pick something you like and it's Game Time!"

* * *

Sam crouched behind a dumpster, trying not to think of what a veterinary clinic might throw away. Her hiding spot was precarious at best due to the alley still being partially lit by daylight. It was still early in the evening and Samantha was terrified that one of the clinic's employees would return for something they'd forgotten.

"We're in." April called in a stage whisper. Sam moved through the alley to the door, slipping in while April held it open.

"Does it bother you that you can do that?" Sam asked as she placed both the katana and the utility ax on a counter where they could quickly reach them.

"Do what?" April smiled mischievously as she reactivated the clinic's security system.

"Never mind. Where do you think they keep the ID chip stuff?" The two of them moved slowly through the clinic, opening drawers and cupboards. They tried to be thorough so they wouldn't miss the device but it was hard not to wonder how close the mousers might be getting.

After several minutes of searching, April held something up that looked like a white TAZER. "Found it!"

Sam hurried over to her, "Great, do you know how to use it?"

April nodded, "I think I can figure it out. Hold still."

Sam did as she was told. April held the device close to her arm and pressed a button. She then slowly moved the device up over the green skin of Sam's arm, over the shoulder, and out of Sam's range of vision. Shortly after she lost sight of the device Sam heard a beep and April groaned. "Found it." April reported, not sounding enthusiastic.

"Great!" Sam felt a sense of tentative relief, "Then we can get it out!"

"Not really." Still no enthusiasm from April.

"Why not?"

"The tracking device is under your shell, maybe even inside of it."

"Then… can't we still get it out?" Sam asked, confused.

In reply she felt her entire back from her shoulders to the highest part of her legs vibrating as April knocked on her shell. The vibrations nearly made Sam nauseous. "Your shell is too hard, I don't know what would cut through it and I really don't want to compromise the strength of your carapace." April explained.

Sam turned around and gave April a slightly annoyed look. "April, don't you think robots trying to EAT ME might compromise the strength of my shell?"

April had to admit, the girl had a point. "Fine, we'll look around and try to find something." She assented. Sam nodded and they split up to search the clinic again. Scalpels weren't sharp enough and they couldn't find a surgical drill. April found an office and started skimming through the textbooks for information on operating on chelonians, but couldn't find anything helpful. Her crash course on veterinary medicine was interrupted when Sam shouted from another room.

" _April! Is this thing what I think it is_?"

April replaced the book she was skimming and hurried through the clinic until she came into the small operating room. Sam was closely inspecting a large machine with several long wires. One of these wires ended in a small device like a fat pen. As April came into the room Sam looked up hopefully, "This is a surgical laser right?" After inspecting it herself, April nodded. "Could it… cut through bone?" Sam asked.

"Theoretically." April answered slowly, "But I'd need Donnie's help to open the safe and get the analgesics out."

Sam's skin paled but her face hardened. "No drugs." She said. "I can deal with pain but I will _not_ have any more drugs."

"Sam…" April started.

"No." Sam repeated. "We need to get that tracking device out but I will _never_ let anyone put another drug in my system." For a moment the two girls stared at each other. Sam's face was as stone, her eyes hardened with mental and emotional scarring.

"No… drugs." April finally repeated. Sam relaxed a little, gratitude flashed across her face. "But I'm still going to need Donnie's help." April insisted. She stood and turned to go back to the office but before she left the operating room April paused and turned back to Sam, who now looked deflated and tired. "Sam?"

Sam sat up and pretended she wasn't as tired as she was. "Yes?" Her eyes blinked just a little too fast as she tried to feign wakefulness.

April frowned, "Hang in there okay?" Sam nodded and April hurried to call Donnie's shell cell from the phone in the office.


	15. First Do No Harm

I apologize for the delay. My hard drive died and threw off my posting schedule. By the time my laptop was repaired that stupid "Real Life" thing kind of exploded. I'll try to resume posting on Fridays.

Lesson of the day -ALWAYS back up your files and keep your passwords somewhere secure offline! I do and can't tell you how much stress it saved me!

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I do not own the TMNT

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Chapter 15: First Do No Harm

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"No drugs. Never!" Samantha repeated.

"But Sam-"

"No." Although she spoke at a normal volume Sam somehow overpowered Donnie's half yell.

"Samantha, I categorically refuse to conduct any surgical procedure without the aid of analgesic chemicals on moral and humane grounds." Donnie insisted. Though he usually tried to avoid long words or academic terminology - he really tried- Donnie sometimes resorted to it intentionally when dead set on getting his way.

Unfortunately for him, Sam had encountered this technique before and considered it amateurish -it didn't begin to intimidate her. She stood with her feet spaced evenly and her hands at her side in a typical debate team stance. "I refuse the drugs. It's non-negotiable."

"Samantha-" Donnie started again, use of her full name signalling more fancy science talk to follow.

"Don." Leo interrupted. He grabbed his brother and pulled him aside.

April stepped up to Sam and put a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "Sam, you know Donnie would never do anything to hurt you. None of us would."

Sam closed her eyes and nodded, "I know but I _can't_ go through that again. Not even a little. I just _can't_!" She rubbed at her eyes before forcing them open. It had been a long day and it wasn't over yet.

In the corner, Leo spoke quietly to Donnie. "Maybe she's right."

Donnie looked at Leo to check that his brother's sanity was still intact. "Leo, this is _laser_ surgery. While it has a lot of advantages over traditional surgery it is also _extremely_ painful." He glanced down nervously. "I have little experience with this kind of thing in the first place but without pain medication... I don't think I could purposefully do that to anyone."

"But this time, couldn't the drugs make things worse?" Leo suggested gently. "What about that doctor's oath? First do no harm?"

"I think a better fitting description here would be 'the benefits outweigh the negatives' and in this situation I guess that puts everything into schedule one." Donnie admitted sadly.

Leo nodded, having no idea what that meant but guessing from Donnie's tone that his brother was starting to bend. Donnie looked up, "Leo, I don't think you understand just how painful this could be for her. The underside of her shell is still sensitive from the mutation, the heat and cutting from the laser will be horrible, excruciating! Furthermore, the ID detector isn't exact! I might have to look around for the device!" Donnie's eyes were begging Leo to let him off. Leo wished he could.

He looked up at Sam in time to see her rubbing at her eyes again. She looked tired, worn out physically and emotionally; just like she had the last time the mousers found her, and the time before that. Leo didn't want to force Donnie to hurt a friend, but he knew that Sam had to nearing the end of her rope. Beside Sam, April was trying to offer some comfort. Their human friend also looked tired, having been chased first from her store and home, then from the lair. Casey had been chewed up pretty good and the turtles were having a hard enough time protecting Sam's family without worrying about those mechanical devils in the sewers. As it was, Donnie had been forced to collapse yet another tunnel on the mouser army -that would invite more humans into the sewers to conduct an investigation and repairs.

It was either perform the operation tonight and cause excruciating pain to their friend, or leave the chip and wait to see if another option arose while the mousers continued to endanger Sam and everyone around her, or force the drugs on her and destroy the trust and healing she'd begun. They were as unwilling to force the drugs on Sam as she was to take them voluntarily.

Leo looked back at Donnie. "Don, I think Sam can handle the pain. Do you think she can handle another day of running? Especially when she's still recovering from all that she's already been through?"

Donnie sighed, his head drooping. Finally, he straightened up. "Fine, but I'll need some antiseptic, the smoke vac, surgical scrub, gauze…" As Donnie continued to list off necessary supplies Leo caught Sam's attention and nodded. Samantha smiled gratefully and sighed.

Leo just hoped he hadn't overestimated her capacity for pain.

* * *

"Best two out of three!" Travis laughed as he dug through his bag.

"I've already beat you -like- a million times!" Zack retorted as he popped a disk out of the game player.

"I know, but it sounds good in the movies!" Travis smiled as he pulled out his night clothes and tossed them on the bed before finding what he was looking for. "Finally!" He tossed Zack the box, "My all-time favorite! I didn't know if you had the system so I brought it anyways."

Zack held his oreo in his mouth while he looked at the box. It was one of those older games inspired by either a movie or a television show. "You like arcade games?" He asked around the cookie.

Travis nodded, "Love 'em. Although I kind of hate that level where the room's on fire and the girl just sort of stands in the corner looking scared while you get your butt kicked by the boss."

"That's about all girls are good for." Zack nodded sagely and shook his cookie to emphasize his point. He popped the whole cookie back in his mouth while he started hooking up the necessary system. Both boys looked up when they heard Zack's mother calling down the hall for them to wash up for dinner.

"That and cooking dinner." Travis amended Zack's statement before he headed for the bathroom.

Zack quickly finished chewing his cookie before he left the room. His mom didn't like him eating sweets before dinner and she would throw a fit if she knew Zack had given them to Travis as well. Before he left, something fell out of Travis's bag and caught Zack's attention.

It was a CD with a black label covered in foreign writing, maybe Japanese because he'd seen something like it in his video games. Zack picked the disk up and put it back in Travis's bag. He'd ask about it after dinner.

* * *

As Donnie calibrated and familiarized himself with the surgical laser, Leo watched April help Sam.

First, her thick brown hair was braided and tied out of the way. Next Sam's shell had to be scrubbed with a yellow-brown antiseptic and the area where the tracking device was located carefully marked with a non-toxic marker for Donnie to follow. Sam climbed onto the operating table and sat with her shell to Donnie. April handed her a small wooden dowel to use as a mouth guard. Finally, April pulled blue hairnets over both hers and Sam's hair before passing out the surgical masks.

April and Sam tied theirs on, but Leo and Don had some difficulty getting the ties to stay on without ears or regularly shaped heads. The girls eventually had pity on the hapless turtles and helped them tie the surgical masks to their ninja masks. April then passed out protective goggles -also supported by ninja masks- before she took her place beside Donnie with the smoke vac.

Leo retrieved a high stool so Donnie could easily sit and reach the top of Sam's shell. After a brief pause Donnie spoke. "Sam, it's not too late to change your mind."

Samantha's voice was clear and strong despite the exhaustion in her eyes. "I'm not going to change my mind. Let's get this over with."

April started the vacuum and Sam felt fingers on her shoulder as Donnie braced her shell and started to cut. Sam swallowed down her nerves, clamped the dowel between her teeth and pulled the mask up over her mouth and nose. She blinked in surprise when Leo slipped his hand into hers but didn't object.

She could already feel the heat of the laser between her shoulders.

* * *

"Yes! Finally!" Travis threw his arms up and reveled in the glory of his victory.

Zack laughed, "Yeah, _finally._ " He teased. His smile grew bigger, "Best two out of three?" He asked. Travis chuckled at the earlier reference which also reminded Zack of something, "Hey, I saw a CD in your backpack, what is it?" He asked.

"CD?" Travis repeated. Then he remembered. "Oh! The black one, right?" Zack nodded, Travis shrugged non-committedly, "I found it in Sam's room. I've sort of been holding onto it."

Zack nodded with genuine understanding, "Yeah, I still have my dad's old beret. So what kind of music is it?"

Travis shrugged. "It doesn't work on my CD player."

Again, Zack nodded. He watched Travis set up the game for another match while he puzzled over this information. "Think maybe it's a CD-ROM?"

"What?" Travis looked over at Zack like his brain capacity had just doubled.

"A CD-ROM. Maybe it's for computers." Zack suggested.

Travis's grin exploded, "You're right! Sam took all kinds of computer classes! That has to be it!" He jumped to his feet and scrambled back to his backpack before pausing and glancing sheepishly over his shoulders. "Eh-heh, could I borrow your computer?" He asked politely.

Zack stood up and moved to his desk to boot his computer up, "No problem."

Soon they had popped the disk in and were waiting for the program to load. Travis was starting to feel embarrassed about his excitement; it was probably just some homework assignments or reports for school. At most it might be a diary. A boring nerd diary.

"Whoa." Zack whistled, drawing Travis's attention back to the screen.

Letters, numbers, diagrams, and more of those strange characters like the ones on the CD filled the screen and started to scroll past faster than the eye could follow. "Travis, man, was your sister trying to take over the world or something?"

Travis stared at the screen in slack jawed shock, "She joked about it but -I swear- I thought she was kidding!"

The figures continued to flash past on the screen in black and white text. "So, uh…" Zack mumbled, "Do we call the Justice Force or what?"

"WHAT!?" Travis squeaked at his friend. "I can't call tell on Sam to the Justice Force! We don't even know if she's doing anything wrong!"

* * *

Oroku Saki sat behind his desk, idly going through papers. While the Utroms had held him back from his attempts to gain political and military power on this planet he had developed a taste for the subtler power that came with business and money. There was also a greater challenge to it than simply destroying one's enemies through might; a uniquely satisfying victory came from cornering one's prey without the use of a single traditional weapon.

His thoughts and plans were interrupted when a notice came up on his computer. It was labeled urgent with the Foot clan symbol on the side indicating that it truly was urgent. He accessed the notice and smiled at what this simple computer reported.

Saki pulled out a simple black communication device and pressed one of the buttons.

" _I am here, Master._ " Reiko's voice came over the device.

"The Disk has been activated. Go to its location and retrieve it immediately." Saki ordered.

" _I will attend to the matter personally, Master._ " Reiko replied.

Oroku Saki frowned as he broke off the connection and contemplated the Disk. It held a great deal of information that could be harmful to his corporation. It was supposed to have been destroyed, and would have been, if it weren't for that slippery Peters man.

If Reiko was worthy of her training she would retrieve the disk tonight, no matter who or what stood in her way.

* * *

At the end of the wand, irritated tissue smoked faintly but bled little as it gave way to the invisible laser. The vapor that rose from the tissue did so in thin white wisps before getting caught in the suction of the vacuum and being pulled out of the way before it could build up and block Donnie's vision.

He had been carefully examining the area April had marked off as the location of the tracking device, but he hadn't found anything yet. Mentally he tore himself into little pieces as physically he edged the laser over to search another area of the surgical site.

Leo stayed with Sam, giving her as much support and encouragement as he could, but from the glazed look to her eyes she had probably tuned him and everything else out as much as possible nearly twenty minutes ago. Her skin was a solid sheen of sweat with fresh beads rolling down her face and arms. When her breathing became shallow April insisted she take off the surgical mask and replace it with a large veterinary oxygen mask, which she had to hold in place with her free hand. While Sam refused to release Leo's hand, she didn't squeeze it in reaction to the pain she must be feeling. She didn't make any noise beyond the faint crunch when the wooden dowel had splintered some time ago.

According to the clock on the wall it had been fifty-four minutes since Donnie had first started using the laser and as more time went by the more Leo was fighting the impulse to stop the surgery. He wasn't sure who he wanted to yell at more; himself for arguing Donnie into it or Sam for refusing all medications.

Sam's hand suddenly tightened its grip on Leo's hand and she hissed, her eyes squeezing shut. Behind her, Donnie reached for the surgical pack and selected one of the tools.

"Don?" Leo asked, worried.

"Hold on a second…" Donnie mumbled. He although his hands were steady his eye twitched when Sam made another barely restrained noise. Finally, he moved the instrument over to the surgical tray and put it down. He then grabbed the laser again and worked for a few seconds in the pan before announcing; "There! Got it!"

The laser and the vacuum were both shut off as Donnie hurried to close. Unfortunately this part of the procedure was the most painful for Sam. Her breathing hitched and she whimpered as Donnie bit his lip and grabbed several gauze pads and some surgical tape. Tears streamed down her face and around the oxygen mask until Donnie finally announced, "Finished! We got it, Sam! The tracking device is out and destroyed!"

Sam nodded slowly. The mask slipped from her fingers and her eyes started to roll back into her skull before closing. Sam slumped to the side where Leo caught her.

Just then a strange voice echoed through the clinic, "I don't know who's in here, but I'm calling the police!"

* * *

"I scream! You scream!" Zack's mother chanted. "We all scream-"

"Mom!" Zack groaned, "We're not little kids any-"

"-For ice-cream!" Travis interrupted. He and Zack's mother laughed while Zack just looked bemused before laughing himself.

Although it was nearly midnight, Zack's mom had found them still awake and instead of yelling or ordering for the boys to go to bed, she had offered ice-cream. Now they sat around the kitchen laughing and talking over bowls of vanilla, Rocky Road, and peanut butter latte ice-cream. Travis thought that Zack's mom was cool. She wasn't as uptight as Mrs. Gelding, she was far more willing to bend the rules. Zack's mom also smiled more; she kind of reminded Travis of how his own mom used to be.

The bowl in Zack's hands slipped and fell into his lap. His pajamas were splattered with half melted chocolate ice cream. Zack grinned sheepishly while his mom helped him move the bowl and as much of the mess as possible into the sink without messing his clothes up more. Travis was as helpful as possibly by trying to smother his laughter but failing miserably. Zack's mom ordered for Zack go to his room to change. Zack carefully hopped off the counter and tried to walk with as little cold on his skin as possible.

"And don't forget clean underwear." Travis added. Zack glared at him but once he saw the impish look on Travis's face he couldn't help but chuckle at his own expense.

Both Travis and Zack's mom smothered further giggles as the larger boy half-limped half-waddled from the room. Zack's mom then looked at Travis thoughtfully. "So, Travis." Zack's mom tried to change the subject from cold underpants before her son got back. "Are you doing any sports this year?"

Travis poked at his ice-cream and shook his head. "Nah, Mom's still overprotective. I'm not allowed to do anything outside of school and Mass." He smiled sadly, "Mom and Dad had a huge argument over just letting me spend the night."

Zack's mom frowned; Travis's mother's concern could prove harmful in the long run if she didn't let up. "I think I'd like to meet your mom. Could you talk to her about that?"

Travis nodded. He was thinking that his mom having a new friend of her own might help her loosen up. "Sure, I can do that."

"m-Mom?" Zack stuttered. Zack's mom and Travis both turned to see Zack, clothes still coated in chocolate, standing in the entrance to the kitchen. Behind him stood a person, probably a woman, dressed completely in black and holding a dagger to Zack's throat.


	16. Run Boy Run

I do not own the TMNT

* * *

Chapter Sixteen: Run Boy Run

* * *

Donatello and April exchanged worried glances while Leo lifted Samantha off the operating table.

"We need to distract whoever it is and get Sam out of here." Leo instructed.

"And I need time to clean up." Donnie added. At Leo's questioning look he explained, "We can't leave any of Sam's blood behind. Somebody might put it under a microscope."

Leo nodded and was about to say something when April interrupted. "Okay, Leo got Sam? Donnie, start cleaning. I'll take care of everything else." She grabbed a couple scalpels out of the surgical pack still on the tray and headed for the door of the operating room. Donnie did as he was told and grabbed the spray bottle filled with a yellow-brown solution as Leo carried Sam over to the door beside April.

April put a hand on the light switch and waited for Leo to get into position. Once he was ready April shut off the lights and hurried through the door in full surgical scrub, speckled with blood and holding the scalpels high. The turtles could hear April and some other woman yelling at each other. Their favorite red-head concocted a story about 'years of research ruined' by the interruption while the other woman tried to calm her down. Soon, the voices quieted as the speakers moved away. Once the coast was clear Leo glanced back at Donnie, who was scrubbing down the laser, before slipping out the door and carrying Samantha down a hallway and out of the building.

Holding Sam made it impossible to open any of the doors of the battle shell. Leo was forced to set her on the ground, leaning her shell sideways against the tire of the vehicle as he pulled open the back doors. By the time Leo returned to where he'd left Sam she was moving a little and grimacing.

"Hang on, it's almost over." Leo encouraged as he slid one arm under her legs and braced the other on her shell, mindful to avoid the bandaging. When he lifted her, Sam hissed, then caught her breath before she opened her eyes.

"I fainted?" She asked, incredulous.

"I've always preferred the term 'passed out'." Leo suggested. He carried her to the back of the armored truck and gently set her on the floor of the vehicle. As he hopped in beside her Sam braced herself against one of the seats and pulled herself up, gritting her teeth against the near agony. But she'd had worse; that was why she hadn't been too happy to learn that she'd… 'passed out'.

Sam looked up in time to catch Leo watching her before he turned away to shut the back door of the battle shell then went to open the front doors for Donnie and April. It wasn't long before the two missing members of their party came running out the back door of the clinic. Donnie jumped into the driver's seat and started the engine while April passed Sam's -or rather; Donnie's- utility ax back to Leo and settled the katana on the floor beside her.

The battle shell tore out of the alley just as a woman came running from the clinic, shouting and waving her arms.

* * *

Diane stared in horror at the sight before her. Her only child stood in his dirty pajamas being held hostage, a blade held to his throat by what looked like a ninja. "Do not look so alarmed." The ninja soothed. The voice was female and lightly accented. "If I can obtain your complete and total cooperation no harm with befall you or the children."

"What do you want?" Diane demanded. She wanted to run forward and snatch Zack away from the masked woman, but Zack could be dead before she got there.

The ninja seemed to sense her thoughts and tightened her hold on the knife, forcing Zack to step closer to her as the knife pressed against his skin. "My master requires a disk. It appears as a simple compact disk with a black label." She explained.

Travis's bowl of ice cream crashed to the floor. The bowl shattered and splattered cold melted ice-cream around for several feet.

"I'll assume you have seen it." Her voice was amused.

Travis nodded.

"Very well. Show it to me."

Travis pushed off the counter and cautiously stepped around the mess on the floor. Diane shoved her bowl into the sink and was about to follow when the masked woman ordered, "Stop. You will stay here. The boy will show me the disk." She stepped out of the kitchen, pulling Zack with her. As Travis followed them another figure, taller and most likely male, stepped into the kitchen. Although his hands hung easily by his side there was no ignoring the sword strapped to his back.

Travis scooted around the crazy ninja girl, careful not to make eye contact with Zack. He was sure that if he did he would start crying and that might make the ninja angry. On the other side of the ninja woman, Travis hurried to Zack's room and made straight for the computer. He pressed the button for the disk drive and hopped impatiently on his heels as the computer whirred and clicked before finally popping out the disk. Travis grabbed the disk and instantly felt his heart somehow both sink and jump into his throat.

It was the wrong CD. The evil ninja woman would definitely not like it if Travis handed her a video game. No matter how cool the video game was. Now Travis could remember taking Sam's CD and switching it with the game, but he couldn't remember what he had done with Sam's CD after that!

Glancing over his shoulder at the masked woman and his terrified friend Travis swallowed hard and grabbed the box for the game that had been in the computer. It was empty. Frantic now, Travis started looking through all the other boxes they had used that night. He then tossed them aside and started tearing through his back pack.

"ZACK! Where did you put it?!" Travis's voice squeaked but he didn't care.

"I don't know! I thought you had it!" Zack's own voice was laced with panic and sounded more like a whimper than a retort. Travis upended his backpack and sifted through the contents, then searched them again.

"It's not here!"

"How can it not be here?!" Zack shouted.

"I don't know! It's just not here!" Travis repeated.

"But-" "How-" "I don't know" The situation was quickly growing chaotic.

"Silence!" Both boys became as if mute and Travis stared at the ninja still holding Zack. "Where did you last _see_ the disk?" The ninja asked.

"In the CD ROM thing." Travis answered; despite the situation he was annoyed. It was _missing_ , knowing where it used to be wasn't going to help him find where it was _now_. Why did adults ask stupid questions like that?

"And what is currently in the disk drive?" The ninja woman's voice was cold.

"A game! It's not the CD, I don't know where the CD is!" He knew that this woman would kill Zack soon if he didn't do something. But he had no idea what to do. If his dad were here… he couldn't do anything either. Being so young, Travis was used to being helpless, but this actual and sickening depth was new to him. It scared him. "Please just go away!" Travis shouted, sounding as scared and childish as he felt. At that moment he even wanted Sam to come and protect him, but she couldn't. All Travis could do now was to shout and hope that he wouldn't start crying.

"Then you are of no use to me." The ninja removed her large knife from Zack's throat and pushed him forward. "Continue searching for the disk." She ordered. Zack nodded, tears streaming down his face as he tried to do what he was told. The masked face turned back to Travis, "If I don't have that disk in my hand in five minutes-" Her threat was cut off with a pained grunt as she was tackled to the floor from behind. Zack's mom straddled the woman's back and pulled a shard of something white covered in blood from the ninja's shoulder, then stabbed again.

Diane looked up sharply even as she grabbed the hand the ninja held her blade with and fought to hold it down. "Boys, run! Now! Go straight to Ms. Grace's and call the police!" She ordered. Zack stood frozen in shock as Travis eyed the ninja Diane fought to keep down. "NOW!" Diane barked. Travis nodded and grabbed Zack's pajama sleeve before running past the two struggling women on the floor.

They ran out into the hall and barely caught sight of the larger ninja lying in the kitchen before dashing to the front door. Travis pulled open the front door of the apartment and the boys screamed when they saw the ninja on the other side. Both boys threw their weight against the door to close it and then threw the dead bolt into place.

"How do we get out?" Travis demanded of Zack.

For a moment the larger boy looked around, trying to think. "Mom's room!" He shouted. He led the way to the apartment's master bedroom and slammed the bedroom door behind Travis. He had to jump a little but he managed to slide the small lock his mom had installed on the door for privacy purposes into place.

Travis ran to the window and looked out. "This isn't the fire escape!" he squeaked.

"I know, come on!" Zack pushed the window open as far as it would go and climbed out the window feet first. "I do this all the time." He encouraged before sliding out of sight.

"Zack!" Travis squeaked before sticking his head out the window.

Zack hung outside the window suspended from a clothesline stretched between this building and the fire escape on the next building. Travis gaped at him as he moved hand-over-hand further out into the gap between buildings. "Hurry!" Zack urged.

"But…" Travis looked down at the ground three stories down, Zack's apartment was higher than his own. "No way!"

Further in the apartment Travis heard a shout, followed shortly after by splintering wood and more shouting. "Come _on_!" Zack repeated. He was nearly on the other side and could soon crawl onto the neighbor's fire escape. The voices were right outside the bedroom door now.

"No way." Travis repeated, but he reached out and grabbed the clothesline.

He climbed out of the window and as soon as Zack saw Travis had a firm grip he started moving the clothesline to pull Travis over. By the time both boys had reached the fire escape the bedroom door had been kicked in and a ninja was watching them through the window.

* * *

"Sam, I know you're getting tired of spending most of your time resting, but I'm going to have to put you on bed rest for at least a week." Donnie continued to monotone his 'Doctor Donnie's' orders. "You must avoid showers and take only sponge baths until your shell starts to heal up. At the very least I want you to ensure that-"

"STOP!" April shouted. Everyone braced as the battle shell skidded to a halt. Sam and Leo looked out the front window just in time to see a bare foot disappear from the headlights as somebody ran across the street.

"What are kids doing out in the middle of the road?" Donnie asked. In all the time he'd been driving he couldn't remember seeing a single kid on the streets, but driving at night tended to cause that.

"Foot ninja." Leo announced as several shadows flashed across the windshield, "They might be after the kids." Donnie and Leo both leapt out of the battle shell. Leo pause only long enough to tell April, "Keep the doors locked and your katana ready." He turned to Sam and ordered, "Stay there!" After that he was gone.

Samantha glanced around the battle shell as April lifted her katana and withdrew it from its sheath.

Foot ninja.

Sam couldn't help but shiver. She then fought the impulse to cringe as fire shot down her back from where the tracking device had been. "Hey, you okay?" April asked. Her gentle, motherly concern made the sword in her hands seem out of place. Samantha nodded, she hurt like crazy but pain she could deal with.

The idea of being so close to the Foot ninja again was another matter. She never wanted to see another one of those for as long as she lived. Now they could be right outside the battle shell, and they were after _kids_! Thankfully this was the wrong side of town from the Gelding's apartment.

Another shiver ran down Sam's back, acting like gasoline for the fiery pain.

* * *

Travis slid to a stop, yelping when he felt something cut into his feet. Ahead of him, Zack grabbed the door to the apartment building across the street from his own and pulled. It didn't open. "It's locked!" He half shouted, half whined.

Before Travis could respond he felt his pajamas being seized from behind and gave a shout of terror. A dull thud sounded and the grip released Travis's clothes. He ran to the door beside Zack before turning around. Something like a ninja goblin was beating the ninja in black senseless with a stick. Another goblin ran toward them, shouting to get the attention of the other black ninjas surrounding the boys. He reached behind him and pulled out two swords before joining the fight.

In the movies, ninja fights were always way cool, and the bad guys went down right away, but now it was just scary. There was blood, and the stick made a sickening sound when it hit the ninja guys and the ninja guys would _not_ stay _down!_ The goblins, which Travis wasn't even sure if they were the good guys yet, seemed to be kicking butt easy enough, but there had to be a dozen of the black ninjas. With a faint whimper, Travis started to edge further from the fight. He wanted to wake up. This all felt fake, or too real.

One of the goblins started fighting all the black ninjas alone. The one with the stick hurried over to Travis and Zack. He leaned down to their level, not as much of a distance as it was for human adults, and spoke rapidly, "Listen you two, I need you to come with me. We'll keep you safe and take you to the police, okay?"

Zack made a strange noise in his throat and pressed back up against the door. The goblin sighed and turned to Travis. "I understand that my brother and I look strange, but we mean you no harm!"

Travis lifted his hand and bit his palm nervously, earning a strange look from the goblin. After a moment of hard thought he nodded and held the bitten hand out to Zack, "He's cool! Let's go!" When Zack didn't comply, Travis grabbed his friend's pajamas, then pulled him over to the goblin. "What now?" He asked.

The goblin put his stick behind him, "Just hold on and close your eyes." He advised.

"What?" Travis barely had time to ask before he found himself lifted onto the goblin's back… er, shell. He had a shell. It was warm.

"Hold on tight!" The goblin ordered again. Travis nodded and crossed his arms in front of the goblin's neck. He grabbed his wrists like his dad had taught him to and put his head down, squeezing his eyes shut tight. Zack made another scared sound before Travis felt the goblin lift something and start moving.

"Leo! I've got the kids!" The goblin shouted.

"Get them to the battle shell! I'll cover you!" The other goblin shouted. Travis swallowed and risked a peek in the direction the goblin was headed. They weren't going _through_ all those ninja, were they? But the goblin's stick thing was stuck between Travis and the goblin's shell, and his arms were carrying Zack!

Travis squeezed his eyes shut again, buried his face, and held on tight. He had to trust his gut that these guys would help!

* * *

Sam shifted in her seat. She watched April as the older woman tightened and relaxed her grip on the katana. April kept her eyes on what she could see through the front and rear windows. The guys had been gone only a couple of minutes when April hurried to the back door. She got there just as a loud thumping signaled that somebody wanted in. After a quick glance through the window April pushed open the door.

"Take the kids!" Donnie shouted. Sam stood up, ignoring the pain in her back as she and April reached out and pulled in first a large-ish blond boy, then a smaller boy with brown hair. No sooner had the second boy been pulled inside than the door was slammed shut again with the turtles still outside.

The blond boy crawled further inside the truck and looked around nervously, his breathing was coming hard and fast, squeaking a little and making him sound like a small animal, his face bright with sweat and tears. The dark-haired boy sat for a moment, his face down as he caught his breath, then he looked up tentatively.

Sam's stomach lurched, her heart stopped.

 _No!_


	17. Mockery of Reunion

I do not own the TMNT or related themes and characters.

* * *

Chapter Seventeen: Mockery of a Reunion

* * *

 _Samantha! Calm down! You're scaring your brother._

 _But, how do I not scare him?_

 _You have to be gentle, honey. Talk quietly and move slowly. Like this…_

Sam pulled out of her shock to stop staring and really look at her brother. Travis sat on the truck's floor in his pajamas. He shivered and blood smeared near his bare feet. Blood, that gave her something to do. Swallowing, Sam turned and opened the compartment Donnie had said the first-aid supplies were kept. She grabbed a couple blankets and a large kit. One of the blankets was passed to April and the blond boy. Sam then crouched next to Travis with the second blanket.

"Hello." She said softly, a friendly smile on her face.

"Hi." Travis replied. He looked at her curiously. There was no recognition in his eyes, but at least there wasn't overt fear. Sam had been avoiding mirrors since her skin first turned yellow. She had no idea what her brother was seeing.

Sam wrapped Travis in the blanket, and then pointed to his foot, "Could I look at that for you?" She offered.

Travis nodded, "I think I cut my foot." He stated the obvious.

A small, sad smile played at the corners of Sam's mouth. "I think you're right." She agreed. "Come on, up into the chair." Sam helped him into one of the seats, automatically adjusting the blanket around him. Her back flared and burned, but she hardly noticed now.

Once he was settled, Sam knelt beside him and looked at his foot. It was filthy; covered in dirt, gravel, and blood. From the first-aid kit Sam pulled a soft cloth and a bottle of clean water. "Let me know if this hurts, okay?" Travis nodded and bit his lip, a sure sign he had no intention of looking like a wimp. Sam whetted the cloth and started dabbing at the filth. After a few moments of awkward silence, she asked, "So… um… do you have a name?" No point slipping up later and freaking him out.

"Of course. It's Travis." He answered. "What's yours?"

"It's S-" Sam paused, grimacing. She couldn't tell him her real name; there was no telling what he would think. "My name's Pat." She covered, regretting it immediately. With her head down, Sam missed the strange look April shot her way.

"Really? That's my mom's name!" Sam could hear the smile.

"Wow, that's cool," _mine too_.

Once Sam cleared off as much of the dirt as she could, she looked closely at the bottom of his foot. There was a deep cut still oozing blood from his heel, but she couldn't tell if it needed stitches. She figured it could wait for now and fingered through the kit for bandaging. She casually asked, "So your mom's name is Pat, too?"

"Uh-huh."

"And how's she doing?" Sam's ears were perked for every word. She continued to keep her head down to cover any anticipation in her expression.

"She's fine… I guess." Travis replied halfheartedly.

"You guess?" Sam frowned, Travis wasn't the evasive sort.

"I dunno, she's been all… all GRRR!" On the other side of the truck April looked up and chuckled. The blond boy smiled a little, too.

"What do you mean 'Grrr'?" Sam wasn't amused. Their mother wasn't 'grrr'. How was she being 'grrr'?

"She keeps forgetting stuff, and she won't let me do _anything_ without some huge fight first."

"A fight?" With Travis?

"Yeah," Travis tried to shrug it off, "They yell until one of them gets tired of yelling. Dad usually wins 'cause he does a lot of yelling at work."

 _That_ certainly wasn't normal. Sam tried to keep her mind on what her hands were doing but it wasn't easy. Her parents never fought. Never! In fact, they were still 'sneaking' out on dates not one week before Sam was… oh.

"I think it's mostly because they miss my sister." Travis mumbled, in line with Sam's worries.

Samantha stopped moving for a few seconds. She wanted to flinch or cringe, but between her back and the way Travis's words were hitting her she was sure sudden movements would start her crying. Finally, she took a breathe and finished cleaning and bandaging his feet. Once done, Sam took a breath and gathered every bit of performance ability she'd gained from Speech and Debate, looking up with a light smile. "There, all done. Next time you're running from evil ninja, tell them to let you put some shoes on first."

Travis smiled and pulled the blanket closer, "And I'll make sure to tell them Mom wants me to wear a sweater."

Sam held up a warning finger, smirking, "You'd better make sure they're wearing sweaters, too." Her little brother nodded solemnly before covering his mouth with the blanket as he tried to cover a giggle. His brown eyes danced merrily and his nose scrunched up just like Sam remembered. On his cheeks and between the little wrinkles on his nose Sam noticed that his summer freckles had faded while she was gone. Several strands of brown hair fell into his eyes whereas before Sam had been kidnapped it was neatly trimmed. Her arms itched to pull him into a hug and ruffle that overgrown mop on top of his head. Instead Sam distracted herself by repacking the first-aid kit. She blinked rapidly against the prickling in her eyelids.

As his giggles settle down Travis turned over to where April and the other boy were still talking in hushed tones. "Hey Zack! Are you okay over there?"

Zack? Sam knew no Zack. Who was this kid?

The blond boy looked up. There was still fear in his eyes but he was calm now. "I-I think so." Zack's voice still shook. Sam felt the warmth of pride for her brother handling the chaos tonight so well.

Just then, the side door opened and Leo climbed inside. Donnie soon opened his door and climbed into the driver's seat. They both kept their faces neutral as they closed the doors and Donnie drove the truck into an alley nearby. When Donnie killed the engine they again opened their doors. Leo paused and looked in the back of the truck. "We need to talk to you girls, are the boys okay for now?"

Travis smiled and held up his hand in thumbs up. Sam and April nodded. There was something about the turtles' actions that made icy fear slip into Sam's blood. April and Sam climbed out of the back of the battle shell. Before the door shut Sam caught a glance of Travis and Zack exchanging looks. Whoever that kid was, he was getting close to her brother.

Once they had gathered outside the battle shell, Donnie and Leo hesitated to explain. "What is it Leo?" April prompted.

Leo's eyes were shadowed behind the blue material of his mask, carrying a heavier weight than usual. "We found the apartment the boys were running from." He said. "There, it… We found a body. She was probably one or both of the boys' mother." April held a hand to her mouth, green eyes sad.

Donnie shifted on his feet. "We have to take the boys to the police, but do we... should we..." He looked to April, grieved for the boys' sake.

Sam glanced at the truck with her brother still in it. It couldn't be, this was the wrong side of town, but Travis shouldn't have been here either. "I need to see her." Sam spoke before April could.

"Sam, I don't think…" Donnie began, but Sam looked him dead in the eye and he fell silent.

"I have to see her." She repeated, her tone allowing no room for debate now.

Leo stepped closer to Sam and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked to him without changing her expression. He watched her for a moment, then nodded. "I'll take you up." He turned to April and Donnie, both were surprised. "Get as much information out of the boys as you can. If you find out anything important let me know."

"But..." Donnie started to argue, concerned for Sam's health.

"Donatello." Leo's tone and expression were a match for Sam's. Donnie hesitated, then nodded. He and April moved around to the back of the battle shell exchanging looks and a couple soft, curious words. Donnie jumped in and turned to help April, then grabbed the utility ax off the floor and handed it to Sam. "Don't come back with something else I have to bandage." His words only partially in jest.

Sam glanced down at her still bandaged foot, leg, and arm before looking up and forcing a small smile, "Spoil sport." She stepped back as the door of the battle shell closed, her eyes again drawn to Travis. He was still wrapped up in the blanket, confused and worried but strong. Once the door was closed Sam turned back to Leo, "Lead the way."

He shook his head, "Not what I was thinking."

"Say what?"

Sam found a large green finger pointed in her direction. "You just had surgery on your shell, not to mention all the rest you've been through today, the last week, the last months! There's no way I'm going to let you climb the fire escape in that condition." Leo explained.

"Condition?" Sam balked for a moment before stepping forward, hands at her side, ready to debate, "I'll have you know, Leonardo, that I have been in worse 'condition' than the state I am in now. I can walk just fine." She was sure she could, her back still hurt like... like someone had jammed a red hot spade back there, but with something else to focus on it wasn't debilitating. Not like at the clinic where it had enveloped her.

"I won't allow it." Leo stood with his arms crossed. It was a pose Sam was beginning to think he was fond of. "The apartment is still not safe and if the Foot return you will need your strength to defend yourself."

"Do I look like I'm about to fall over again or something?" Sam held her arms out as if for inspection, "I'm not about to –EH?!" Leo moved faster than she could act, sweeping her feet out from under her and lifting her so the hand with the ax was behind his shell.

"What?! Put me down! Haven't you carried me enough tonight?" Sam sputtered.

"No. I spend enough time arguing with Raph, I don't need to have a debate you about this."

"Great, do you carry _him_ up fire escapes too?"

Leo smirked, but didn't reply as he looked up toward the building. "Hold tight." He warned.

By the time Sam felt the thin, commercial carpeting of the apartment building under her sandals she was sure her lifespan was a good ten years shorter than it had been on the ground.

Yes, Leo had carried her up to the right floor, but to say he used the fire escape was an extremely loose interpretation. How he managed to get up four stories with minimal use of his hands was a mystery to Sam, and she had been there!

"Which apartment?" Sam asked once she was sure of her footing and her nerve.

"Four twenty-seven." Leo answered.

Samantha glanced at the doors beside her and started down the hall, only to feel Leo's restraining hand on her wrist. She turned to him. "If you think I'm going to let you carry me to the apartment you've got another thing coming." Sam told him.

His smile was smug, "I'd like to see you stop me." Sam blushed. Leo's expression then became serious. "Sam, I trusted you had an important reason for wanting to come up here. Before we go any further I need to know what that reason was."

Sam glanced down at the ax in her hand. "I…" She could see no reason to keep the truth from him. "That kid, the one with the brown hair…" Sam muttered. Leo nodded, he hadn't gotten a good look at either of the boys but he did recall one of them had darker hair than the other. "The thing is-" Sam looked up and met Leo's gaze, "That was Travis."

Leonardo's eyes widened as understanding dawned but he otherwise remained stoic, "Your brother?" Sam nodded. Leo glanced down the hall, frowning in thought. "That might explain the Foot's presence here. Come on." Leo took the lead and they hurried to the apartment. The door stood ajar and Leo drew a katana before he nudged it open.

"She's down the hall, to the right." Leo explained. Sam nodded again and went through the door, Leo following. He walked close to her on her left, katana held high. Although the main reason he did so was to defend against any returning ninja, he also blocked her vision of the kitchen. Whoever the woman was she hadn't gone down without a fight, and Leo didn't want Sam seeing any more bodies than she had to tonight.

About halfway down the hall Sam paused and took a deep breath before looking to Leo. His expression was reassuring, yet it also offered a way out, a chance to turn back. Sam had never seen a body before, and the idea that her first might be her mother's didn't help the matter. She steadied herself and crept down the hall.

The first thing she saw was a foot. Sam continued until she saw the full body, lying on its back in a small pool of blood. It wasn't her mother. Sam didn't feel relieved. She stepped into the room the body lay in and moved over to the head. Crouching down beside the dead woman Sam carefully placed her hand over the woman's forehead.

Once again, the contrast between Sam's green skin and the human skin was sickeningly harsh, but this time it brought a different feeling to Sam's gut. The skin beneath Sam's fingers was papery white, but still held warmth. There was a nasty gash through the woman's cheek and another one across her shoulder. Clearly the final blow had been to the woman's chest, where the most blood was beginning to dry and cake on the worn T-shirt. Tears threatened to spill as Sam slid her hand over the woman's face, carefully pressing the eyelids shut. In a moment of silence Sam crossed herself and whispered a prayer for the woman.

As she stood Sam rubbed briskly at her eyes before turning to Leo, who stood silent in the doorway. "She must be the other boy's mother. I've never seen her before." Sam said.

Leo nodded and pulled out his shell cell with his free hand. He kept one of his katana ready in his other hand, just as Sam kept the ax in hand. While Leo spoke briefly with Donnie, Sam stepped further into the room the woman had died in.

It was a boy's room. There was a sleeping bag on the floor and Travis's backpack was off to one side with some of his clothes and things scattered around it. The rest of the room looked like it was normally neat, but the desk was a mess and the area around the television with several gaming systems was in chaos. Somebody had searched the room and it didn't take much to figure out what the search had been for. What Sam didn't know was why the Foot clan would think the disk was here. She tugged at her gloves as she tried to puzzle it out.

Behind her Leo closed the connection between the shell cell. "Donnie says that the boys had the Disk earlier, but after the Foot ninja showed up they couldn't find it." He explained. "Now we at least know what the Disk looks like, Travis said it was black with foreign silver writing on it."

"Travis." Sam mused. "He's always taking stuff from my room. I should have guessed the pest might have it." She focused on the computer on the desk, "And if it was from my room…"

Leo watched as Sam moved over to the computer and checked the CD ROM. After confirming the disk in the drive wasn't the one she wanted Sam knelt on the floor and placed the ax beside her before she reached under the desk. She felt around for a moment before pulling out a sock and a pencil. A couple more seconds of searching and Sam pulled out the disk, no different than any other CD ROM except the black label with silvery writing. Though the silver ink and foreign characters made it look exotic, Sam recognized it as metallic sharpie marker, handwritten.

"Don't tell me _this_ is what all the trouble is about." Sam huffed before standing.

"How did you know that was there?" Leo asked, bemused.

Sam smiled and handed him the disk. "Travis is my little brother; I'm more than aware of all of his pesky habits." Sadness and affection blended in her.

Leo slid the disk into his belt, nodding his understanding. No sooner was the disk safely out of sight than Sam's expression changed to one of fear and anger. She lifted her ax defensively and Leo turned to see a female ninja standing in the doorway.

"You must be the one they call Leonardo." The ninja guessed. She barely glanced at Sam, "I was not told of any female turtles." The ninja woman noted, dismissive.

Sam seethed, anger and something very close to pure hate coursing through her body. The ninja might not recognize her, but Sam certainly recognized the ninja. It was the same evil woman who had interrogated and poisoned her.


	18. First Blood

I do not own the TMNT characters or related themes

* * *

Chapter Eighteen: First Blood

* * *

At eleven, Samantha had finally grown tall enough to ride 'real roller coasters'. During a family trip to the theme park she'd run straight to the largest roller coaster and stood in line for two hours before she was strapped in and the coaster started up the ramp. Afterwards, she'd run straight into her father's arms and cried.

This was far worse than a roller coaster, and her father wasn't there.

"Stay behind me." Leo advised quietly. Sam nodded.

The ninja tilted her head. "How sweet." She commented coldly. "Now, give me the disk or I shall take your species significantly closer to extinction."

Sam saw the tension in Leo's shoulders. The comment bothered him but he kept his tone even. "I have a better idea; you let us go and this night won't have to result in more dead Foot than it already has."

The ninja woman's smile was ice cold. "You seem to have the impression that you have the advantage." Although the ninja drew no weapon, Sam felt more adrenaline start pouring into her system. She knew from painful experience that this ninja preferred to stand back and let others do the dirty work for her. The icy smile grew, "A misguided impression." The back of Sam's neck prickled as the hairs stood on end.

"You seem to think that we don't." Leo replied.

"You don't." The woman acknowledged. Warning bells chimed in the back of Sam's mind. Going with her gut, Sam twisted the ax as she spun hard and fast.

The ax head cut deep into the side of the ninja creeping behind her. Metal clashed in the doorway of the bedroom but Sam was too consumed by the sight of the ninja in front of her to look. He grunted and backed away from Sam, pulling free of the blade with a pained sound and spray of blood. Out of habit Sam pulled the ax closer to her but continued to watch in horror as the masked man stumbled and clutched at his side where the black cloth was becoming shiny and wet.

"I-" Sam wasn't sure what she wanted to say. "I-" _I didn't kill him, did I?_

The ninja finally managed to brace himself and reached with his free hand to draw a sword from behind his back. It was shorter than Leo's katana but that didn't earn it any less respect in Samantha's eyes. She stepped back and again lifted the ax as he pulled his arm up and charged unsteadily. He swung from the side and Sam barely managed to block with the ax handle. The blade bit into the wood. Before the ninja could pull his weapon free, Sam twisted the ax, trapping the metal as she kicked at his side. The kick was low and rather weak, but it did the job of inflicting pain on the fresh wound from Sam's blade. With a strained grunt the ninja stumbled back, releasing his grip on the sword. Sam grabbed the hilt of the sword and pulled it out of the handle, effectively ruining the ax as the handle split and fell apart.

For lack of anything better to do Sam held up the sword and tried to look like she knew how to hold the thing. The ninja just stepped back, hitting the wall and trying to stay on his feet. He wasn't managing it very well.

"Sam!" Leo put a hand on her shoulder and tugged gently, "Let's move." He said, pulling her toward the door of the bedroom. Sam followed him, trying to imitate how Leo held his katana so that she wouldn't slice herself in two.

They ran from the apartment and down the hallway back to the fire escape. Leo sheathed his swords and sprinted several yards ahead of Sam. He jumped at the window, grabbing the top frame of the exit and swung out feet first. Sam heard grunts and thuds as she approached the window and when she climbed out the emergency exit for herself the fire escape was cleared save for Leo. Several dark figures lay inert on the ground below.

"Let me see that." Leo held his hand out and Sam turned the sword over to him. Leo slung the sword behind his shell and before Sam could object he had again lifted her. Samantha barely had time to figure out what he was planning before he leapt nimbly onto the railing of the fire escape and jumped.

"LE-" The words died in Sam's throat as they fought for dominance against a scream. Two and a half stories down Leo landed on the battle shell with a thud before he easily hopped down to the ground.

When Leo lowered Sam to the ground her legs gave out from under her. Even with his trained reflexes he might not have caught her if she hadn't been clinging so tightly to him. For a moment he just held her as she started to tremble. She was shivering and Leo was confused before he remembered her 'little problem' with elevators.

"Sam, I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking." He apologized.

Sam slowly shook her head, "N-no," She stuttered, Leo cringed. "F- it w-was the f-f-fast-test way down." Sam insisted, her eyes still wide and skin pale.

Leo opened his mouth to argue but a sound overhead alerted them to more Foot ninja coming out onto the fire escape. Once again Leo lifted Sam and carried her around the battle shell where April opened the back door. He hopped in and set Sam in one of the seats, then pulled the door shut behind him. "Hit it, Don." Leo called. Donnie nodded and soon the battle shell tore out of the alley. Leonardo moved to the front of the battle shell to bring Donnie up to speed on what had happened. Sam sat in the seat with her arms hugging her plastron, trying to stop the shivering.

Warm, heavy material came to rest on her shoulders, pressuring the bandages on her back but welcome all the same. Sam looked up into the smiling eyes of her little brother. "Thanks." Sam told him. Travis nodded and handed her a clean cloth. He signaled with his hand over his own face and Sam mirrored him, wiping her skin. She pulled the cloth from her face and stiffened when she saw the red streaks on the cloth. For a moment she was worried she had re-opened one of her injuries or that the bandage on her back had bled through. Slowly she realized that the blood was not her own.

Sam tasted bile as she remembered the feeling of the ax striking the man, and pulling free of his flesh. She squeezed her eyes shut to try and block out the image before she again looked up. Travis was smiling, happy that he could help in some small way and obviously not aware of exactly what was on his new friend's face. "Thank you." Sam repeated, forcing a small smile of her own.

The boy's eyes glittered with pleasure before he moved over to where April was quietly talking to the other boy, Zack. The false smile on Sam's face slipped away when the blond looked up at her, his light-colored eyes so like the ones Sam had closed not long ago. She felt relieved when he turned his eyes on Travis.

After several minutes of meandering the streets of New York to ensure that they were not being followed, Donnie stopped the battle shell a block or so down from a police station. April helped the boys out of the vehicle and started to walk them to the station.

Sam stood and watched her brother walk down the sidewalk barefoot save for the bandages. She felt a hand on her shoulder through the blanket and looked to where Donnie and Leo were standing beside her.

"You know, your brother's a great kid." Donnie told her.

Sam smiled. "Yeah, he really is." She glanced over at Leo, frowning at the self-abusive expression on his face.

"Sam, about that jump-" He started to apologize yet again.

Sam shook her head and held up a hand to silence him. It took a moment before he reluctantly let his mouth close. "Leo, don't apologize. Just… thank you for trusting me."

Leo nodded, clearly not happy to let the matter go.

* * *

"Reiko! I had expected more! How dare you return to me empty handed!" Oroku Saki bellowed. His fury was genuine, but more heated due to his inability to go and attend to the matter personally. If he didn't have to placate these mewling humans…

"Master Shredder, please. I may return to you with empty hands, but I bring news of a most interesting variety." Reiko pleaded.

Karai's frown was almost invisible against her stoic expression, what could Reiko possibly have learned? Saki was interested. "Tell me, what could possibly be so important that you would return to me without the Disk?"

The kunoichi looked up with a coy smile, a sure sign of her confidence. "Three turtle creatures were at the apartment in which the signal was located. The blue banded one, the purple banded one, and a female." Her smile grew.

"Are you certain?" The ninja master's eyes would have glittered with interest if they had been his own. "A female turtle?"

"Quite certain Master. The turtle was smaller than the blue masked one but not in a way that seemed younger. Furthermore, the creature had hair and did not appear to be trained to fight in any style, much less ninjitsu." Reiko reported.

"Interesting. Most interesting." Saki mused. Karai kept her expression blank, tapping into years of training and practice in concealing every trace of her true emotions.

A female turtle, with hair? There could be only one answer; it had to be the experiment that escaped Stockman's lab more than a fortnight past. Even now, Karai could feel the band that hug around her neck, keeping the memory device containing the information on Stockman's experiment. Now that she knew how to find the experiment, what to do?"

* * *

As the elevator descended, Leo put a comforting arm around Sam's shoulders but all she could do to react or respond was to lean towards his side.

The lair was still a mess, but the main door was closed and from the looks of things Master Splinter had done his best to camouflage the outside with some spare parts. He welcomed them back to the lair with a tray filled with mugs of tea. The tea gave off an aroma that helped sooth Sam's nerves. Master Splinter handed Sam one of these while the others took their mugs from the tray. Leo explained to his father all that had happened since they had last seen each other.

As he explained the events of the veterinary clinic Sam shifted uncomfortably, not so much due to the memory of what happened or the persistent fire across her shoulders as from the gaze with which the old rat fixed on her. She became absolutely absorbed in the vision of steam rising from her tea when Leo explained about Travis and why Sam had insisted on going to the apartment.

"… and after leaving the boys with the police, April returned to the battle shell. Then we all returned here, sensei." Leo finished.

Master Splinter nodded, calmly turning his gaze from Sam -who had finally caved beneath his stare and sipped her tea- to his eldest son. "All save for your brothers." He stated mildly.

Leo, Don, April, and Sam all snapped to attention. "Raph and Mike!" April gasped, horrified.

Sam glanced at the two turtle boys presently accounted for, "A-and where are they exactly?" She asked.

"I left them in charge of waiting for the mousers to come through the rubble!" Leo explained as he hastily snatched out his shell cell and started dialing.

"After I disabled the tracking device the mousers should have returned to Stockman's lab, leaving Raph and Mike waiting for nothing!" Donnie added.

April seemed to be considering something. "Raph's stuck in a tunnel with a bored Mike?" She asked.

Donnie and Leo exchanged a look of dread before they crowded in front of the phone. "Come on Mikey, pick up." Leo encouraged.

Despite how tired she felt, Sam felt herself smiling as she watched the turtles' fear when Raph answered, " _Wad'ya want_?"

"Raph, where's Mike?" Leo demanded.

Raphael sounded annoyed, " _Well if ya wanted to talk to the pest ya shoulda' called his cell. Hang on._ "

" _Leo!_ " Mikey could be heard a moment later. Both Donnie and Leo relaxed.

Sam continued to smile some as she smelled her tea, enjoying the spectacle as Leo told his brothers they could come home. She used to wonder what it would have been like to come from a large, close knit family. Now that she had finally learned to truly appreciate her own small nuclear family she had the opportunity to watch a large family in action up close and personal. As for 'close knit'; she'd never seen siblings as close as these four… although, Sam couldn't recall ever having literally forgotten about Travis.

As Leo returned the shell cell to his belt and Donnie sighed in relief Sam noticed April had one hand clamped tightly over her mouth and the mug in her hand was shaking. Master Splinter stood calmly, amused as his two sons turned back to him sheepishly. "They're on their way back now, Master Splinter." Leo reported.

Master Splinter nodded. The fur by his eyes bristled and Sam could almost imagine small crow's feet wrinkles crinkling in amusement. The expression softened to something else when he looked over to Sam. "I believe that Samantha has had more than enough excitement today." He said meaningfully. Almost as if on command three mugs of tea were replaced on the tray Master Splinter still carried and Sam found herself facing two determined turtles and a human woman.

"Master Splinter's right. Sam, you need to get some rest." April told her. "You've been through a lot today."

"And what have you been doing? Knitting?" Sam scoffed as she was herded toward her room. For some reason the idea of being shuffled off to bed again bothered Sam. Sure she was tired and had been going full steam for way too long, but why was she always the one being told it was bedtime?

"She didn't have her shell cut open." Donnie added.

"I should hope not," Sam noted, "She hasn't got a shell."

"Sam." Leo finally cut in. Sam looked over at him, chaffing at the dominant expression on his face and ready to fall back into debate mode. "Fire escape." He warned.

Sam fled to her room.

* * *

"Travis Gelding?"

Travis looked up at the police officer in front of him. "Yes, sir?"

"Your parents are here for you." The officer stepped aside and once his uniform was out of the way Travis could see his mother and father standing on the other side of the room.

He dropped the Styrofoam cup of hot chocolate and was running before he'd fully stood or the coco hit the floor. The blanket slid from his shoulders just as he threw himself into his mother's waiting arms. "Mommy!" Travis exclaimed, and then he broke.

When the computer had acted all weird Travis had suggested they wait till morning and talk to a grown-up about it. When the evil ninja lady had grabbed Zack, he had done his best to stay strong. When they had escaped from Zack's bedroom Travis had mostly led the way and when the goblins had saved them Travis had chosen to trust them. He had smiled, talked to that nice girl goblin, encouraged Zack, and even given the girl goblin a clean cloth when she had come back covered with ketchup or whatever. Travis had been the one to tell the police what had happened, and he had been the one to leave out the fact that the people who had helped them were not exactly normal.

But now Mommy and Daddy were here. Travis could stop being a big boy. He could cry, he could cuddle, they would take him home and everything would be all right.

Zack watched as Travis hugged first Mrs. Gelding, then Mr. Gelding. Travis cried even though everything was over now, but Zack couldn't exactly blame him, he still wanted to cry, too.

As Zack watched Travis cling to his mother one of the police officers spoke with Mr. Gelding. Zack couldn't help but look behind them at the door that the Geldings had come through. He didn't notice a lady officer come in and speak with the officer behind the desk. Neither did Zack see the sad looks cast his way nor realize as the officer picked up the phone and dialed the all too familiar number for Child Services.

He just continued to watch the Geldings' happy reunion and glance at the door through which Travis's parents had come.

The door opened again and Zack sat up, but he slouched again when yet another police officer walked in. He didn't really care that this cop had a lady with too much makeup and not enough skirt handcuffed to the officer's wrist. Zack just continued to watch the door, occasionally glancing back at Travis and his parents before returning his gaze to that heavy door.

Any minute now.


End file.
